Does Remarriage Affect Child Support in Colorado?

• Does remarriage affect child support payments in Colorado?
• What to know about child support in Colorado
• Can the court system consider a new spouse’s income?
• What happens if a parent voluntarily quits work?
• What factors can change child support obligations?
• Noncustodial parent and child support in Colorado
• Modifying child support in Colorado
• References

Remarriage doesn’t typically affect child support obligations. You should assume the obligation will remain unchanged whether the custodial or non-custodial parent gets remarried. Similarly, having more children doesn’t typically change your obligation, even if that means your expenses rise as a result. 

Does remarriage affect child support payments in Colorado?

While we discuss what can cause a child support order to change in more detail below, remarriage isn’t typically one of those factors. The logic behind this is that child support payments represent a non-custodial parent’s obligation to their child. Since the custodial parent is going to be spending significant time and resources on their child, the other parent is expected to at least pay a reasonable sum to help with that process. 

While people debate this issue, the general idea is that when a parent remarries, the individual they marry doesn’t have any inherent parental obligation to a child from their spouse’s previous marriage. Based on how the law is currently operated, the ability of that person to financially contribute ought not to be factored into child support obligations. 

Read: Our Complete Guide to Child Support

What to know about child support in Colorado

Child support in Colorado is fairly typical compared to other states. 

An unmarried couple living apart or a divorced couple who have children together will first need to establish how custody and parental visitation will work. With these details set, the court will then review the financial situation of both parents and the needs of the child. The court will try to set a fair amount that the noncustodial parent will pay the custodial parent so both parents are fairly contributing to raising the child. 

If you aren’t currently receiving child support but believe you meet the criteria, you can seek an order from the court to get such support. 

There are some situations in which one might not owe child support despite having a biological child and not having primary custody over that child. The most common example is when a birth parent puts up their child for adoption. Once an adoption is completed in Colorado, a biological parent isn’t responsible for child support. Note, however, that they will also lose all parental rights over the child who has been offered for adoption.

Can the court system consider a new spouse’s income?

For the reasons discussed in the first section, a new spouse’s income isn’t supposed to be considered when it comes to calculating child support. 

While the nature of marriage means that spouses generally share their resources (thus giving a parent who has child support obligations or who receives child support access to more money), the new spouse in the equation doesn’t have a legal connection to the child support case of the two other parties. As such, the law in Colorado and most other states doesn’t typically allow the income and general wealth of the new spouse to be factored into how much support is ordered.

What happens if a parent voluntarily quits work?

Voluntarily quitting work is not considered a valid reason to change your child support obligations. The court would view such a decision as financially irresponsible, at least if the person who quit did not have the necessary savings or secondary sources of income to pay their support obligation. 

In the eyes of the law, noncustodial parents should do their best to generate enough income to support their children. As such, the law views voluntarily leaving a job very differently from being furloughed or fired. 

What factors can change child support obligations?

A few factors can change child support obligations in Colorado, including these:

• The costs of raising the child have changed.
• There has been a change to the income of either parent (excluding negative changes resulting from voluntarily quitting work).
• The number of overnight visits the child has with their other parent has changed.
• It has been three years since the order was last reviewed.
• The child has been legally emancipated.

Noncustodial parent and child support in Colorado

To understand child support, it’s important to understand what it means to be a noncustodial parent. 

A noncustodial parent is a parent who spends less or no time with their child living in their home compared to the custodial parent. A noncustodial parent, in spending less time with their child, is expected to help financially support the custodial parent, who will need to spend significant amounts of time and resources raising the child, paying for their food and other expenses. 

Because the income and finances of both parties are taken into account when determining child support, it is reasonable to wonder if remarriage or having more children might lower one’s obligation. However, this isn’t the case. The law focuses on an individual’s finances. Family finances are a different matter. 

These considerations may admittedly not always be obvious, and if you’re in a confusing situation, you may require the expertise of a legal or financial professional.

Modifying child support in Colorado

A parent who believes their child support order should be modified (either so more or less money is paid to the custodial parent) can petition the court for a child support modification. This will require them to provide substantial evidence for the modification to the court. 

The factors usually considered are mentioned in the “What Factors Can Change Child Support Obligations?” section of this article, with two very common factors being a major change in the income of either party or a change in the expenses of raising the child. Both parents should be prepared to present evidence supporting their position, ideally with specific pieces of financial data supporting their claims. 

References