Child Support for Multiple Children

In the past, when parents had multiple children, child support was calculated for the total number of children. When the eldest child reached age 18 or graduated from high school, the child support would remain the same unless a judge granted a petition for modification.

Now, the statute requires that child support be calculated for each child. In other words, if there are three children, you would have three different child support numbers in the final judgment:

•  First, the child support for all three children

• Second, the child support amount for the youngest two

• Third, the child support for only the youngest child

In theory, this seems fairer. However, the statute does not take into account that the parties’ incomes and other expenses may have changed during that time period. Therefore, it is always beneficial to have child support recalculated by a qualified attorney when one child turns 18 — just to see if that child support which was set years ago is still valid.