Child Support

2019 brought us a lot of turmoil in national politics, foreign policy, and even a new gas tax on the state level to help fix Ohio roads. But these were not the only changes affecting Ohioans. Here are four changes in Ohio family law that every Ohioan should know about.

CHILD SUPPORT, CHILD SUPPORT, CHILD SUPPORT

Many Ohioans were effected by the sweeping amendments of Ohio's child support statutes in February of 2019.

As a result of Ohio Legislature House bill 366, sweeping changes will take effect on March 28h of this year in the way Ohio calculates child support. 

The major changes effected by the new legislation are as follows:

1. The economic tables have been updated.

In Ohio, paternity between a father and a child can be established by an acknowledgement of paternity filed with the Ohio Department of Health and Human Services at the time of the child's birth, an administrative establishment of paternity through a County Child Support Enforcement Agency, or a court order establishing paternity through a divorce or juvenile paternity case. Sometimes, this involves DNA testing to determine whether paternity exists and sometimes the parties acknowledge paternity without DNA testing.

The main process the court uses in determining child support is the child support worksheet calculation. This worksheet formula is required by the Ohio Revised Code and is too detailed for inclusion in this book. However, any family law attorney who you consult with can perform a worksheet calculation for you or, if you prefer, you can find several websites online that will calculate child support for you. If you want to obtain an estimate of your child support on the internet, just make sure that you use an Ohio child support guideline worksheet as they tend to differ from state to state.