Child Support

Usually, the judge decides the child support amount based on the Arizona Child Support Guidelines. See the guidelines on the Arizona Courts website. These guidelines consider factors like the child’s needs and both parents’ finances and ability to pay. However, the judge will stray (“deviate”) from the guidelines if s/he believes that:

• applying the guidelines is unfair or inappropriate in your situation; and
• it is in your child’s best interest to order a higher or lower support amount.²

Here are some reasons why a judge could order a different child support amount:

1. Both parents have significant parenting time and one parent makes a lot more money than the other.
2. The parents together make more than $30,000 a month and one parent makes a lot more money than the other.
3. A parent has to pay a lot to travel to see the child during his/her parenting time but s/he may not be able to afford those costs if s/he has to pay child support, too.
4. A parent could not afford to get the child needed health or mental health care if s/he has to pay child support, too.
5. A parent must stay home to care for his/her other child with unusual emotional or physical needs.³

¹ Arizona Child Support Guidelines at A.R.S. § 25-320
² Arizona Child Support Guidelines at A.R.S. § 25-320(IX)(B)
³ Arizona Child Support Guidelines at A.R.S. § 25-320(IX)(D)