It is important to realize that changes may occur in this area of law. This information is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem, and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney.
Marriages in Oregon are terminated by a proceeding called a dissolution
of marriage. When dissolving a marriage, the court can order two kinds
of support: child support and spousal support (formerly called alimony).
Child support is money one parent must pay to the other parent for
the care, support, education and welfare of the parties’ children.
In Oregon, child support is generally awarded in cases involving children
younger than 18, or to age 21 if the child is a “child attending
school” as defined by state statute (ORS 107.108). Child support
can be established through an administrative proceeding filed by the
state of Oregon, through a paternity action filed by a party, in a
petition for custody action between unmarried parents, or in a dissolution
of marriage proceeding. In all cases, including a divorce (dissolution
of marriage proceeding), child support is established by using the
state’s Uniform Child Support Guidelines.
The state of Oregon has created a formula that takes into account the
parties’ income, the parties’ parenting plan, child care
costs, medical insurance costs and uninsured ongoing medical expenses.
All states are required to create such a formula. Oregon’s child
support calculator is found online at www.dcs.state.or.us/calculator.
Once the parties’ information is inputted into the worksheets,
the formula determines a presumed amount of child support. This amount
is presumed to be correct, and a judge must follow that amount unless
specific findings are made that the amount is unjust and not appropriate
based on the facts of the particular case.
Possible factors to justify a deviation from the presumed amount are
set forth in the guidelines themselves. They include such things as:
other resources of a parent; necessities of a parent; net income of
a parent; a parent’s ability to borrow; the number and needs
of other dependents; the desirability of the custodial parent to remain
at home with the children; tax issues; and the financial advantage
afforded a parent by living with a partner in a relationship similar
to a spousal relationship. Note that judges do not commonly deviate
from the presumed amount of child support.
In establishing the appropriate amount of child support, it is important
to establish the parties’ income. To establish a party’s
income, a judge will look at all earnings, income and resources of
that party. This includes salaries, wages, commissions, advances, bonuses,
dividends, Social Security, workers’ compensation, unemployment
benefits and all other sources of income. If a party has no income,
that party’s income will be based on “potential” income,
or at least an income based on what that party can earn working full-time
at whatever the current minimum wage is in Oregon. Other factors that
come into play in establishing the appropriate amount of child support
are: the number of children; whether there are any non-joint children;
the amount of parenting time (visitation) a party has with the child(ren);
and whether a party is paying or receiving spousal support.
Generally the non-custodial parent will pay child support to the custodial
parent. Even if the parties have joint legal custody and 50/50 shared
physical custody, depending on the parties’ respective incomes,
it is possible that one party will be presumed to pay child support
to the other. The party with the greater income will bear a greater
portion of the financial burden to support children. The guidelines
may find that one party’s income is only enough to support him
or herself, and presume that no support should be paid, although these
situations are rare.
The ordered amount of child support can be modified when there is a
change in the parties’ circumstances.
The following example may be useful: Assume that the non-custodial
parent has a gross income of $3000 per month, and the custodial parent
has a gross income of $1500 per month. The combined incomes of the
parties is $4500 per month, of which two-thirds is attributed to the
non-custodial parent. If, under the formula, the support needs of one
child is $600/month, the non-custodial parent would be required to
pay two-thirds of that amount, or $400/month.
Spousal support is money that a court orders a man or a woman to pay
to a former spouse to help that spouse meet his or her needs. Spousal
support is not awarded in every dissolution case. Spousal support can
only be ordered in dissolution of marriage cases (not in paternity
or unmarried custody cases).
An award of spousal support is based upon what is “just and equitable.” The
amount and duration of spousal support is based on a variety of factors.
Those factors include: length of the marriage (generally not awarded
in short marriages unless a party has substantial health issues); ages
of the parties; health of the parties; work experience and earning
capacity (probably the most important factor). A court will also look
at the standard of living the couple had during the marriage, how the
couple deals with property division in the marriage, the parenting
plan regarding children, how responsibility for debt is allocated,
costs of health care, etc.
There are three kinds of spousal support: transitional, compensatory
and maintenance.
- Transitional support is for a party to attain education and training necessary to allow the party to prepare for reentry into the job market or for advancement therein. This type of support is commonly awarded in shorter or mid-length marriages.
- Compensatory support is for cases when there has been a significant financial or other contribution by one party to the education, training, vocational skills, career or earning capacity of the other party. This type of support is rarely ordered.
- Maintenance support is a contribution by one spouse to the other, either for a specified or indefinite period of time. This is commonly awarded in long-term marriages where there is a significant gap between the earning capacity of the parties, a gap which will probably never be closed.
Spousal support awarded in a particular case can be a combination
of the three kinds of support, such as a higher amount for a period
of months for transitional support, and then a smaller amount indefinitely.
Spousal support does not automatically terminate upon remarriage of
the spouse receiving the support. Either party can ask for a hearing
to modify the amount or length of spousal support based on a substantial
change in the financial circumstances of either party. Establishing
an appropriate amount of spousal support is always interrelated with
the division of property in a particular case. For instance, a spouse
could be awarded more than half the equity in the family residence
in exchange for not receiving spousal support. Generally a court would
rather disentangle the parties in that fashion (if it is otherwise
equitable) than order spousal support.
The law relating to child and spousal support is very complex, and
has a substantial impact on the lives and resources of the parties
involved. Legal representation to protect your rights is generally
a good investment.
Legal editor: Joel Overlund, June 2008