Navigating Temporary Child Support During Divorce: Insights and Legal Perspectives Episode 205

When Does Child Support Begin and Temporary Child Support in Colorado Divorce

In this episode of Divorce at Altitude, Ryan Kalamaya dives into the essential topic of child support in Colorado divorce cases, providing a clear understanding of when the child support obligation begins and the intricacies of temporary child support. Ryan breaks down the legal framework, specifically focusing on when child support starts based on either the filing of a divorce petition or the physical separation of the parties. He uses the example of Eric and Melanie Wolfe, who are in the midst of a divorce but still living together, to illustrate how child support works when couples haven’t yet separated their finances or homes.

Ryan also discusses the concept of temporary child support, which comes into play during the divorce process before a final support order is made by the court. This temporary support is determined by temporary orders or agreements between the parties and can differ from the final child support calculation, taking into account factors such as income disparity and the amount of time each parent spends with the children.

Episode Highlights

When Does Child Support Start?
Ryan explains that child support in Colorado starts either when the petition for divorce or legal separation is filed or when the parties physically separate. In the case of Eric and Melanie Wolfe, no child support will be owed until they physically separate.

Temporary Child Support
Ryan discusses temporary child support, which is support provided during the divorce proceedings before a final court order is made. This can be determined by temporary orders or a temporary agreement and may differ from the final support calculation.

Factors Affecting Child Support
Ryan covers the key factors in child support determinations, including income disparity, the amount of time each parent spends with the children, and any maintenance (alimony) obligations. These factors can all affect the amount of temporary child support.

Changes in the Divorce Process
As the divorce progresses, the parenting schedule and the financial situation may change, which can impact the amount of temporary child support. Ryan explains how this is taken into account in the divorce proceedings.

What is Divorce at Altitude? 

Ryan Kalamaya and Amy Goscha provide tips and recommendations on issues related to divorce, separation, and co-parenting in Colorado. Ryan and Amy are the founding partners of an innovative and ambitious law firm, Kalamaya | Goscha, that pushes the boundaries to discover new frontiers in family law, personal injuries, and criminal defense in Colorado. 

To subscribe to Divorce at Altitude, click here and select your favorite podcast player. To subscribe to Kalamaya | Goscha's YouTube channel where many of the episodes will be posted as videos, click here.  If you have additional questions or would like to speak to one of our attorneys, give us a call at 970-429-5784 or email us at info@kalamaya.law.

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DISCLAIMER: THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS ON THIS PODCAST IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL ADVICE. CONTACT AN ATTORNEY IN YOUR STATE OR AREA TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE ON ANY OF THESE ISSUES.

Transcript

Ryan Kalamaya 0:01

Welcome to Divorce At Altittude, a podcast on Colorado family law. I'm Ryan Kalamaya. Each week, along with my business partner and co-host, Amy Goscha, or an expert, we discuss a particular topic related to Divorce or co-parenting in Colorado. In addition, we have created a short series of lessons that will take you through the legal process of Divorce and answer your questions from simple to complex. Divorce isn't easy. The end of a marriage, especially when children are involved, brings a great deal of loss and change. We hope these practical tips and insights will help you on your journey to a new. And better life. This is a how to episode on when child support begins and temporary child support. Now, let's suppose that Eric and Melanie Wolfe file for a divorce but they're not yet separated physically separated. They're living in the same house and the bills are being paid and they have children. What happens in that scenario for child support? There's an interesting feature of 14. 10. 1. 15, which is the statute on child support. And it says that child support starts, the obligation begins upon the later of the filing of a petition for divorce or dissolution of marriage and or legal separation or physical separation of the parties. And so in that scenario neither Eric nor Melanie Wolfe are going to owe the other child support until they physically separate. Now, the counter is also true, and that is that if Eric and Melanie Wolfe if they physically separate, let's say they go through a trial separation Eric moves out, gets an apartment somewhere in Denver, and they have children and they are equally dividing or it doesn't really actually matter what their parenting arrangement is. Child support does not actually start until they file. And once they file or once Eric moves out then child support is going to begin to accrue and a party can either. a particular amount of child support. So if Eric is paying Melanie or paying the mortgage and giving her some money or access to the bank account so that she can pay for groceries and other things for the children, the court can take that into consideration in determining back support, but if Eric. It takes a different approach, a much more aggressive approach and just says, I'm not paying you everything, anything. We're going through a divorce and we're going to separate our finances. You're, on your own and there's a disparity between their incomes and, or there's a disparity between the amount of time that they're spending with the kids, then. Back support can start accruing. And so it's going to start upon that date when they either physically separated or the petition was filed. Now, you can get into various arguments between Eric and Melanie Wolfe on how much Eric should pay. But Temporary child support is going to be provided through the duration of the divorce and or the action that is going to take place between Eric and Melanie. You'll take into consideration the amount of maintenance as we've discussed. Addressed in other episodes, you've you determine a party's income after the property that they're allocated in the dissolution is, split up, but you can't obviously do that in the temporary situation. There can be arguments. A party can file a motion for temporary orders or there can be a temporary agreement and that agreement on the amount of support can be different compared to what ultimately is ordered after the court. Eric and Melanie could change their parenting schedule. Eric could get more parenting time through the pendency of the divorce. So at the hearing, let's say a year later the situation could be drastically different. Melanie could be working by then and Eric could have the children more than he did when they first separated. So those. Various factors can be taken into consideration in determining temporary child support, but for now you should understand when it accrues and the various issues that are going to go into the determination of temporary child support. Thanks for listening or watching this short lesson on the Divorce Ude podcast. If you found this helpful, please leave a review or share with a friend. It does help for others that are going through or thinking about a Divorce in Colorado. If you want to find out more information, Please visit Kalamaya Law or Divorce at Altittude dot com and that's K A L A M A Y A law. Remember, this is educational information, it's not intended to be legal advice. Please consult with an attorney about the particulars of your case. We're happy to answer questions. Feel free to give us a call at(970) 315-2365.