section V. Computation of Child Support

  1. Law
  2. Arkansas Code
  3. Family Law
  4. Appendix Administrative Order Number 10 — Child Support Guidelines
  5. section V. Computation of Child Support

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  1. Calculation and Use of Worksheet: Except as provided in Section II, paragraph 3, Self-Support Reserve, the gross income of both parents shall first be determined and combined. Each parent’s share of the combined total gross income is then determined based on their percentage of the combined income. Next, the basic child-support obligation is determined by looking at the Chart for the parties’ combined income and the number of children they have. A presumptive child-support obligation is then determined by adding the allowed additional monthly child-rearing expenses (including health insurance premiums, extraordinary medical expenses, and childcare expenses). Each parent’s share of additional child-rearing expenses is determined by multiplying the percentage of income they have available for support, which was determined in step 1. The total child-support obligation for each parent is determined by adding each parent’s share of the child-support obligation with their share of allowed additional child-rearing expenses. Lastly, the payor receives a credit for the additional child-rearing expenses that the payor is paying out of pocket, resulting in their presumed child-support order. See the “Forms” Addendum for a sample child-support calculation.The payor parent shall owe his or her presumed child-support obligation as a money judgment of child support to payee parent.All orders granting or modifying child support shall contain the court’s determination of both parents’ gross income and shall specify who is the payor parent and who is the payee parent. Any order shall also state the amount of health insurance premiums, extraordinary medical expenses, and childcare expenses allowed in determining the total child-support obligation. See the “Forms” Addendum for sample language that may be used.
  2. Shared Custody Adjustment: In cases of joint or shared custody, where both parents have responsibility of the child(ren) for at least 141 overnights per calendar year, the parties shall complete the Worksheet and Affidavit of Financial Means as they would in any other support case. The court may then consider the time spent by the child(ren) with the payor parent as a basis for adjusting the child-support amount from the amount determined on the Worksheet.3
  3. Split Custody: When each of the parents have sole custody of one or more of the children, a theoretical support obligation for each parent shall be determined based on the number of children in the other household and offsetting the smaller obligation against the larger one. The parent with the larger obligation pays the difference. To accomplish this calculation, a Worksheet must be completed for each custody arrangement. There must be separate worksheets for the child(ren) who do not live primarily with the other(s).
  4. Third-party Custody: When one or more children are not in the care of either biological parent, a child-support order can issue against each parent. The support amount is calculated by using the Worksheet and computing the obligation of each parent by multiplying each parent’s share of income by the total child-support obligation. Both parties shall owe his or her total child-support obligation as a money judgment of child support to the third-party caretaker or guardian. If only one parent is available, that parent’s sole income shall be used to determine the total gross income and one hundred percent of the basic child-support obligation shall be given to that parent. If the third-party caretaker or guardian incurs costs for health insurance premiums, extraordinary medical expenses, and childcare expenses, those expenses may be apportioned pro rata between the parents, or apportioned by the court if only one parent is available, as a deviation from these Guidelines.

3 The Guidelines intend for the court to deviate (in an amount to be determined) on a case-by-case basis when the payor parent has more than 141 nights with a child(ren). This discretionary deviation shall also apply when the parents each have the child(ren) for approximately 50% of the time. In particular, in deciding whether to apply an additional credit, the court should consider the presence and amount of disparity between the income of the parties, giving more weight to those disparities in the parties’ income of less than 20% and considering which parent is responsible for the majority of the non-duplicated fixed expenditures, such as routine clothing costs, costs for extracurricular activities, school supplies, and any other similar non-duplicated fixed expenditures.This discretionary adjustment is based on the number of overnights, or overnight equivalents, that a parent spends with a child pursuant to a court order. For purposes of this section, overnight equivalents are calculated using a method other than overnights if the parent has significant time periods on separate days when the child is in the parent’s physical custody, under the direct care of the parent, but does not stay overnight.


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