When a couple is going through a divorce in the state of South Carolina many things have to be decided upon, and they are all important and potentially emotional. But the issues regarding the children, such as child custody and visitation, are the most sensitive of all. Fortunately, most divorcing couples act with the  interests of their children at heart to reach an agreement regarding custody and visitation and work together to be good parents to the children in spite of their differences. 

Once the matter of custody has been decided, the non-custodial mother or father is going to have to make child support payments to the mother or father who has primary physical custody of the children. In legal parlance the party making the payments is called the obligor, and the mother or father who is receiving the child support payments is the obligee. The state of South Carolina uses what is called the Income Shares Model to calculate the amount of child support that must be paid, and it is best described through the utilization of a simple example.

Let's say that Brad and Deborah have gotten divorced, they have one son named David, and Deborah is the custodial parent or obligee. For the purposes of this example we will say that the state guidelines call for $400 a month in total to care for David financially. Brad earns $3,000 a month, and Deborah earns $2,700 each month which comes to a total of $5,700. If you round it off Brad earns 53% of that total, so he must pay 53% of the $400 that it takes to support David according to our hypothetical state guidelines. So Brad's monthly child support payment is $212. It should be noted that this payment is not etched in stone. As circumstances change over time a modification may be needed. 

If you have questions or concerns about child support, contact a Charleston SC child custody attorney to arrange for a free consultation. The best divorce attorney Charleston South Carolina will give you the help you need with all aspects of a Charleston SC divorce.