Diligent Attorney Helping Fargo-Moorhead Clients With Their Child Support Cases

The general focus of North Dakota and Minnesota family courts is to make sure that children involved in custody matters get support from their parents. Whether you’re seeking child support or the paying parent, you want to makes sure to sufficiently cover your child’s expenses and basic needs, along with your own. Litigating a child support order always calls for having an experienced, compassionate child support attorney who represents your interests as a parent.

North Dakota Child Support Parameters

If you have a child with a partner with whom you don’t live, and you don’t have residential responsibility of your child, North Dakota court will likely order you to pay child support. North Dakota child support laws are based on a calculation that only considers the non-custodial parent’s income, household composition, and a few allowable deductions into consideration. The non-custodial parent is typically ordered to pay a set percentage of their net income to the custodial parent.

Minnesota Child Support Guidelines

Minnesota child support laws use a “combined income” model, which considers the gross incomes of both the custodial and non-custodial parent in determining child support. The two gross income amounts are added together and then applied to a table that designates the “combined basic support obligation” or the amount that parents in a specific income bracket usually spend on their children. The non-custodial parent contributes to the combined basic support obligation according to his or her percentage share of the parents’ combined income.

When Child Support is Ordered

In general, courts in both states issue child support orders soon after either parent files a court action for divorce or residential responsibility. Child support orders are also issued if a parent applies for services through either the North Dakota or Minnesota Department of Human Services or another public assistance program.

O’Day Law Office, PC is dedicated to helping Fargo-Moorhead metro area and Minnesota families with all the complexities of their child support cases. We’ve chalked up many favorable outcomes in our family law and custody cases over the past 30 years of our practice. Find out how we can help you—call our office at (701) 298-9326 today.