Whether you expect to pay or receive alimony and child support, the decision to divorce raises many questions about this money. One of the most critical questions asked is, what counts as income when calculating child support or alimony in New Hampshire? Understanding what counts as income is essential if you are to be paying to ensure a fair calculation that allows you to continue supporting yourself. However, it is also crucial for those receiving either payment to ensure that their income is accurately calculated and that they receive the appropriate amounts.
At Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC, our experienced divorce attorneys may assist in determining all of your or your spouse’s income sources, estimating what child support or alimony payments may be in your circumstances, and filling out the necessary paperwork to request a court order for child support, alimony, or both. Call (603) 707-4800 to schedule a consultation in our Meredith or Laconia offices and discuss the specifics of your case.
What Are Alimony and Child Support?
Alimony and child support are legal obligations for one individual to provide another with financial support. However, they are not interchangeable and do not serve the same purpose. For example, alimony is never ordered to support children, and having children together does not guarantee alimony. These are also often areas of conflict that can extend the timeline for finalizing a divorce.
What Is Alimony?
Alimony, or spousal support, is financial support from one spouse to the other during separation or after divorce. The higher-earning spouse pays spousal support to the non-earning or lower-earning spouse. The purpose of alimony is to assist the spouse with lower or no income in maintaining a lifestyle similar to the one they had during the marriage. Alimony may be ordered long-term or permanently, or it may be short-term to provide support until the recipient becomes self-sufficient, and can also be paid as a lump sum or a series of payments.
What Is Child Support?
Child support is financial support paid from one parent to the other parent to provide for their shared children during a separation or after divorce. These payments are meant to pay for essentials, such as food, housing, and clothing, as well as other necessities such as health insurance. In some circumstances, parents can also use this money to pay for other child-related expenses, such as extracurricular activities. While both parents are financially responsible for their shared children, child support paid by the noncustodial parent ensures that the custodial parent has the money required to meet the children’s needs. Child support is usually paid weekly or monthly and ends when the youngest child becomes an adult.
Are Child Support and Alimony Always Ordered Together?
Alimony and child support are not always ordered together. For example, some couples do not have children, so there is no need for child support. Some divorcing parents each have their own income that allows them to maintain their lifestyle without needing alimony. However, there are cases where both child support and alimony are warranted, and they are both ordered.
One important note about these financial supports is that while they may both be ordered in the same divorce, they are not connected. Child support is calculated differently from alimony and ends when the children become adults. Spouses are not always legally required to support one another after divorce financially, but parents are always legally required to financially support their children, whether through child support payments or other methods.
What Is Considered Income When Calculating Child Support and Alimony?
The courts do not use the same formulas when calculating alimony and child support. They also do not define income the same way. An experienced divorce attorney with Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC, may be able to review your income sources and help you understand which ones would be included and provide estimates of what the court may order for each type of financial support.
Income for Child Support
In New Hampshire, RSA 458-C:2 governs child support. This statute also defines what is considered income for child support. Generally, income for child support purposes is gross income. Specifically, gross income is all earned or unearned income from any and all sources. This includes salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, and tips. Additionally, when calculating child support, trust income, social security benefits, annuities, gambling or lottery winnings, interest, dividends, and rental incomes are all considered income. Self-employment income, business profits, investment income, pensions, and payments from specific government programs, such as workers’ compensation, veterans’ benefits, or unemployment benefits, also count as income. Some government programs, such as supplemental income or food stamps, are not considered income. A new spouse’s income is not gross income for child support purposes.
Parents should note that the state may also use its discretion to consider as gross income the difference between a parent’s current earnings and their past earnings if the parent has voluntarily become underemployed or unemployed. The state does not consider incarceration as voluntary unemployment. The state also allows for the self-support reserve, or the income a child support-paying parent would need to live on, to prevent parents from falling below a certain standard of living while supporting their children. This reserve means that if the court’s calculated child support payments would reduce the parent’s income below that self-support reserve, the support obligation may be reduced to ensure the parent can still provide for themselves.
Income for Alimony
New Hampshire does not explicitly define what is considered income for purposes of calculating alimony. The state uses a formula that includes such factors as the paying spouse’s ability to pay, the requesting spouse’s reasonable needs, and the requesting spouse’s lack of income or property.
While there is no definition of income to calculate an initial alimony order, New Hampshire’s RSA 458:19-aa addresses modifications of such orders. Specifically, it addresses what may not be considered income when modifying these orders. This may provide some guidance toward what is or is not considered income in the initial order as well. When modifying alimony orders, the court cannot consider a new spouse’s income (unless the paying spouse has voluntarily become underemployed or unemployed), or from a second job or overtime if the second job or overtime began after the initial alimony order.
What Happens If Your Income Changes After Being Ordered to Pay Alimony or Child Support?
Both alimony and child support are modifiable after the initial orders have been made. However, they both have specific requirements that must be met to be modified.
Income Changes Affecting Alimony
The duration or amount of alimony may be modified if the following three things are true:
- An unforeseeable and substantial change in circumstances has taken place since the initial order
- The modification does not cause an undue hardship on either party
- Justice requires the requested change in duration or amount
Additionally, term alimony orders end upon the payor either retiring or reaching full retirement age (whichever is later) or upon the payor’s death. If the recipient cohabits with a new partner, either party can request a modification or termination of alimony.
Income Changes Affecting Child Support
Per RSA 458-C:7, either parent may request a child support modification every three years from the last order without any substantial change in circumstances. This means there does not need to be a change in income or any other changes to request such a modification. However, if there is a substantial change in circumstances at any time, either party can request a modification based on that substantial change, even if they have recently requested or been granted a modification. The statute does not explain what the court considers to be a substantial change in circumstances, so parents may wish to consult with an attorney to discuss whether the change in question would qualify.
How a New Hampshire Divorce Lawyer May Benefit You
Alimony and child support are both financial support, but they serve different purposes. Whether you will be paying or receiving one or both supports, understanding what counts as income and how they are calculated is essential to ensuring that any ordered support is fair and appropriate for everyone involved. An experienced New Hampshire divorce attorney with Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC, may review your income sources, provide estimates of what the court may order in child support or alimony, or assist in requesting modification of child support or alimony orders already in place. Call (603) 707-4800 to book an appointment and discuss your case.
