Child Support

The judge will use the New Hampshire Child Support Guidelines to decide the amount of support owed. New Hampshire calculates child support by combining both parents’ incomes to get an idea of how the children would have been supported if the parents remained together. The court will start by looking at “gross income” for both parents. Gross income is income from all sources except a few types of government assistance. The judge will then factor in certain payments like taxes, other child support, and medical expenses to come up with a “net income” for each parent. The net incomes will be added up to get the total child support obligation, which is then divided proportionally between the parents according to their income and the number of children that need to be supported.¹

The court will assume that the amount suggested by the Guidelines is fair unless one of the parents challenges it. If the judge decides that special circumstances exist, s/he can decide that ordering an amount other than the amount suggested by the Child Support Guidelines is in the best interests of the child.²

You can visit the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services website to read more about the Guidelines and to get an estimate of the payments you might receive from their child support calculator.

¹ N.H. Rev. Stat. § 458-C:3(I), (II), (III)
² N.H. Rev. Stat. § 458-C:4(II); see also N.H. Rev. Stat. § 458-C:5(I)