The Basics
Under Iowa law, judges decide the amount of child support a parent must pay to the non-custodial parent. Judges must utilize the Iowa Child Support Guidelines when calculating support.
Iowa law requires that the incomes of both parents be determined along with deductions that are allowed via the Guidelines. Once all of the numbers are known, the resulting net income of the parties will be applied to a charge called the Iowa Schedule of Basic Support Obligations to determine the support amount.
The judge will then order the non-custodial parent to pay the amount of support to the parent who will have physical custody of the children, known as the non-custodial parent. Unless one or both parents are considered to be low-income, support is typically based on the combined net monthly incomes of both parents. As your attorney, I will work to determine the appropriate amount of support before we ever go to court.
