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* * Who Pays Rhode Island Child Support? * *

In a Rhode Island divorce proceeding the parent that the child or children does not live with (the “non-placement parent”) should anticipate paying child support.

* * What is Rhode Island Child Support? * *

Rhode Island Child Support is typically an amount of money that the court orders the parent the children do not live with (the “non-placement parent”) to pay to the parent the child(ren) lives with ( the “placement parent”) the for the care, support and maintenance of the minor child(dren).

* * How is Rhode Island Child Support calculated? * *

For the purposes of this article it is necessary to understand that Rhode Island Child Support is based upon the gross incomes of both parents.

Though Rhode Island Child Support can and often is, somewhat complicated to calculate, the foundation of a basic calculation to arrive at a recommended minimum order involves taking the combined gross monthly income of the parents and applying it to the Rhode Island Child Support Guidelines table. Using the combined gross monthly income of the parents together with the number of children on the Child Support Table, a proposed minimum amount of support that the child(ren) are entitled to each month is provided by the Rhode Island Child Support Guidelines table / chart.

You should note that there are both mandatory and optional deductions that may be made from a parent’s gross monthly income if certain criteria are met. This section is not an all inclusive explanation of how child support is figured in every instance, rather it is an overall view of a basic calculation assuming no other deductions.

* * When do the Rhode Island Child Support Guidelines provide for support increases? * *

Of course it stands to reason that the higher the combined gross income of the parents, the higher the child(dren)’s standard of living and thus the higher the total child support the children are entitled to on a monthly basis. Therefore the total child support obligation the child(dren) is entitled to on a monthly basis will go up incrementally as the combined gross income of the child’s parents goes up.

Each parent, however, is typically held responsible for his or her percentage of the monthly child support obligation for both parents that his income is to the total. Thus, if you make $3,700 per month and your spouse makes $6,300 per month, then your total combined gross monthly income is $10,000 per month.

A quick calculation shows that you make 37% of that total income and your spouse makes the other 63%. Therefore, whatever the total child support is for your child according to the guidelines, the non-placement parent will pay his or her percentage multiplied by the total child support. (i.e. If the child support monthly total is $1,000 and you are the non-placement parent you would pay child support of $370 per month).

* * How is overtime factored into Rhode Island Child Support? * *

A strict reading of the Rhode Island Child Support guidelines demonstrates that overtime is not required to be considered by the court in the gross income of a party. However, that does not mean that it is not considered.

Overtime is a factor left to the discretion of the judge handling your case. Therefore, it may or may not be considered based upon the circumstances of your case or the judge hearing your case.

However, if you have consistently worked overtime, have used the overtime pay to provide for your children, and your matter is heard before a judge who believes that all or a portion of overtime should be considered, you can expect that your child support is likely to be higher than those who do not work overtime.

By: Christopher Pearsall

A simple uncontested divorce is a divorce that a Rhode Island divorce lawyer can typically complete for a relatively inexpensive flat fee. In a RI uncontested divorce, the attorney and the parties must still attend court for a brief hearing.

The hallmark of a flat fee uncontested divorce is a divorce with: (1) no assets, no real estate, no children and no joint debt or (2) the parties have minimal assets and entanglements and have agreed to everything and no property settlement agreement is needed.

The lawyer must complete an intake process in which the lawyer gets the basic information so that the divorce papers can be filed. The attorney uses the information obtained from the intake to draft the documents. You need to provide the lawyer with your pay stub from work and your marriage certificate.

The next step is to sign the documents in front of the lawyer or another notary. The following documents are required: Complaint, DR(6) financial statement, statement of children, counseling statement, marriage certificate, report of divorce, summons and automatic divorce order.

The financial statement must be accurately and truthfully completed. After the documents have been signed and notarized, the case must be filed. A Court date of approximately 65-70 days will be set by the clerk upon filing. The Defendant must then be served by a RI constable! If the Defendant lives out of state he or she can be served by certified mail.

On the date of the nominal hearing, at the call of the calendar, the case will be called “ready nominal”. A hearing is required under RI law Pursuant to Rhode Island General Law. A divorce cannot be resolved without a nominal hearing.

At the nominal hearing certain testimony must be elicited in order for the divorce to be granted. In some circumstances, it is necessary to have witnesses to briefly testify to prove residency. If you don’t have the required witnesses your case could be delayed or even dismissed and you may waste your time attending court.

In order to obtain a divorce, you need to have been a domiciled inhabitant and resident of Rhode Island for one year prior to your filing. There are exceptions to the residency requirements for people in the armed forces who are stationed abroad or in other states.

A filing can also be based on a persons husband’s/ wife’s residency for one year prior to the filing. It does not matter if you change your residency or move out of town the next day. It only matters that you were a resident on the date of the filing and for one year before!

In order to prove residency, it is enough, if both parties appear at the nominal court date and testify that at least one of the parties was a domiciled inhabitant and resident of Rhode Island for one year prior to the filing of the complaint for divorce.

The Court will usually waive the requirement for an additional witness if both spouses attend the court date and testify that one party had the requisite residency.

If only one party attends the nominal court date then you need to do the following in order to obtain a divorce (a) bring two additional witnesses to testify to the one year residency of the Plaintiff or the Defendant or (b) one witness in court to testify to the one year residency of the Plaintiff and an affidavit from a different witness concerning the person’s residency.

If you do not meet these requirements to prove residency your case may be dismissed. You also may be given additional time to obtain the necessary witnesses or affidavit

After the nominal Court date a Decision Pending Entry of Final Judgment must be submitted to the Court and signed by the Judge.

The Final Judgment can not be submitted or entered until 90 days after the nominal Court date.

Without a final judgment signed by the judge and entered as an order of the Court, the divorce will not be final.

Rhode Island legal Notice per RI Rules of Professional Responsibility:

The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law, but does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any field of practice.

By: David Slepkow