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The article discusses several amendments to the rules governing the courts in Idaho as of 2019, and it mentions criminal law rules involving prison sentences and the reimbursement of prosecuting attorney fees, as well as information about appellate procedure rules and the "Idaho Rules for Electronic Filing and Service." Family law rules involving the dismissal of inactive cases and child support guidelines are examined, along with misdemeanor criminal rules and administrative procedure rules.

In theory, child support is an amount of money payable by one parent to the other to make sure that a child is cared for and shares, to some degree, the standard of living enjoyed by both parents. This theory is quantified in child support guidelines statutes where the actual amount of child support is calculated using economic data. Current guidelines for child support awards in most states are based upon economic data regarding the spending levels of intact households. The data used in states' child support guidelines are not merely advisory as the phrase "guidelines" may suggest to many. Federal regulations require that guidelines be presumptive in child support determination.1 That is, the presumptive award is based upon formulas which incorporate economic data on child costs. State presumptive formulas typically apply the intact family child cost data to parental incomes and number of children--and then add other factors, such as health care insurance premiums and child care costs. The presumptive award is the actual award unless one of the parties rebuts the presumption on which the award is based. The intact family economic data used to calculate child support are misleading because of the failure to consider the economic reality of the existence of two separate households. Parents divorce, families split, and partners leave, and where there once was a single, intact household with two parental figures, there now are two households with separated parental figures. Consequently, this means that there is less discretionary income available across the two households because of an increased level of expense required to maintain two households rather than a single, intact household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Child support guidelines are one of the most explicit, and consequential, public articulations of parents' obligations to their biological children. States must weigh a variety of policy tradeoffs, including issues of equity, transparency, and simplicity. Many states are shifting to "income-shares" guidelines models from "percentage-of-income" models, citing a perceived increase in equity and flexibility. Given additional complexities in implementing the income-shares model, we ask how often, and for whom, alternative guidelines yield substantially different child support orders. We use state administrative data on matched pairs of divorcing parents to simulate expected order amounts for each type of guideline. We find that, despite substantial differences in the information required to implement alternative models, for most families, adopting a different model would result in only modest changes in the amount of child support due. However, in some instances a different model would result in large changes, particularly for relatively low-income fathers. Highlights • Many states are shifting to 'income-shares" child support guidelines models. • For most families, alternate models result in only modestly different order amounts. • Relatively low-income fathers could see the largest changes in orders. • Other decisions drive differences (e.g., shape and level of the guideline). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, there is consensus that the current system of allocating and enforcing child support obligations does not work well for disadvantaged families, most of which are nonmarital. Nonmarital children are less likely to have support orders established than marital children, and they are much less likely to experience full payment. In this article, we report data on child support awards and enforcement associated with a sample of paternity actions brought in 2008 or 2010 in St. Joseph County, Indiana. We found that child support practice in St. Joseph County promotes limited contact between children and their absent fathers, nonpayment of prior support obligations, and the accrual of arrears that can never be paid. These results strongly support recent changes in federal child support regulations and programs that postdate the orders in our study. Our results also demonstrate both the need for additional reforms and the difficulties that lie ahead as the states begin to grapple with applying the new standards. Key Points for the Family Court Community: Child support enforcement among the very disadvantaged neither makes fathers more responsible nor collects significant moneyIt also makes contact with their children less likely and results in the amassing of arrearages that will never be paidWhile recent federal legal changes move in the right direction, we fear that local agencies are still unable to calculate incomes when none can be shown, and, as with credit for other paid support orders, resort to shortcuts that are inaccurate and unproductive [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses legal considerations for special needs children who are involved in divorce proceedings in America, and it mentions Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs), the U.S. Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and attorney-client relations in places such as Idaho. It states that students with disabilities are entitled to a Free Public Education (FAPE) in the U.S. Idaho's Child Support Guidelines and America's Civil Rights Act are assessed.

Purpose - Under the impetus of federal law, each state is required to develop Guidelines by which to determine presumptive child support awards following divorce. The key federal requirement is that during the specified quadrennial reviews of each state's Guidelines, "a state must consider economic data on the cost of raising children." Our purpose here is to compare presumptive child support awards provided in typical state Guidelines with the actual monetary costs of raising children. Methodology/approach - To this end, we estimate these monetary costs from government data on consumer outlays in households with children as compared with substantially similar childless households. We review and reject current methods for determining child costs: both from income equivalence methods and those offered in annual government surveys; and provide quite different results despite using the same data employed by others. Findings - Our econometric results indicate much lower monetary costs than reported for either of the two alternatives. Since presumptive child support awards in most states rely on current methods, these findings suggest that existing award structures should be re-evaluated. Practical implications - Current award structures create a financial asset resulting from the gap between presumptive awards and monetary costs for custodial parents. This factor engenders resentment by support payers since it is his or her payments that fund this asset. And this resentment harms relationships between the parents. Increased willingness of non-custodial parents to make their assessed payments is an outcome promoted when payment amounts reflect the actual monetary costs of raising children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates of abortion rates in Australia suggest that substantial numbers of men are party to an unplanned pregnancy. Although men have no formal legal rights in the decision to terminate a pregnancy, they may be liable to pay child support. The purpose of this 2011 study was to glean young men's perspectives on their role in unplanned pregnancy. In semi-structured in-depth interviews, ten male university students aged 20-23 gave their views on their role in imaginary scenarios and real-life unplanned pregnancy situations ranging from a one-night stand to a two-year relationship. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Young men generally expected a higher level of involvement in decision making in longer relationships than in brief liaisons. Those with real-life experiences of abortion tended to think that men should have a greater role in decision-making. Young men felt that it was the woman's right to make the decision on pregnancy outcome, but they still wanted some say if they were financially implicated. Nevertheless, men usually assumed that women were equally motivated to avoid pregnancy and left responsibility for contraception to the woman. Young men were centrally concerned with maintaining face-not being seen as 'deadbeat dads', abandoning mother and child. None expressed religious or moral concerns about abortion. Few men mentioned risk of sexually transmissible infections. Further research should explore the discrepancy between young men's desire to be more involved in the abortion decision-making process and their ambivalence towards contraception responsibility. Sex education should attempt to make the risk of unintended fatherhood more real to male adolescents. Sex education should incorporate discussion of different relationship dilemmas to encourage greater ownership over sexual and reproductive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Florida's child support guidelines and laws, focusing on Florida's statutes, several legal cases in the state which deal with child support and parenting schedule-related time-sharing deviations and adjustments. A "catch-all" legal exception under Section 61.30(11)(a) of the Florida Statutes is mentioned, along with administrative procedure and parenting plan laws in the state. Legislative amendments, child support calculations by courts, and divorce are examined.

The paper presents a model of family judges' child support orders when no guidelines are available. Based on the French case, it argues that judges weigh up their wish to comply with their institutional environment against their discretion and their willingness to find a compromise, by basing their decision on the parties' average offer. Using experimental data consisting of child support awards set by approximately 80 French judges, the findings of the paper suggest that family judges promote parents' child support offer when there is an agreement between them, particularly when their offer is lower than the amount deemed necessary to preserve the child's interest. There is also some evidence that female judges are likely to be more generous than male judges, although in small amounts and under certain circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the history, purpose and significance of the child support law and its relationship to physical custody of child with noncustodial parents in the U.S. It discusses the significance of various statutes including the Social Services Amendments of 1974 (SSA), the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984, and the Family Support Act of 1988 (FSA) in supporting the child-support guidelines issued by the Federal Government.

The author argues that California should adopt a child support guideline formula similar to the one used in New York to avoid parental abuse and preserve the best interests of children in California. According to the article, both parents of a child have a legal obligation to support their minor children under California's Family Code. It states that child support obligations in California typically terminate when a minor reaches the age of 18. The U.S. Social Security Act of 1935 is examined.

The article discusses several legal cases which deal with Canada's Federal Child Support Guidelines as of February 2014, focusing on legal matters which address issues such as income disclosures, the legal rights of step-parents, and retroactive child support orders under the nation's Divorce Act. The treatise "Child Support Guidelines in Canada, 2012" by Julien D. Payne and Marilyn A. Payne is examined, along with Canada's Income Tax Act and shared custody arrangements.

The article explores the similarities and differences among the guidelines for determining the amount of child support in various states in the U.S. It also discusses common issues identified by states as part of their most recent guidelines reviews. It focuses on the economic assumptions made in the development of guidelines including assumptions concerning tax rates, price levels and child-rearing expenditures.

When parents have children from multiple partners, the resulting complex families challenge conventions concerning parents' rights and responsibilities. These challenges are particularly salient for child support policies, which articulate parents' obligations to their children and determine the amount of support due. Data from Wisconsin suggest that complex families are fairly common and that nonresident fathers' earnings in these families are typically quite low. The prevalence of these families and their economic vulnerability make expectations about child support particularly important, but family complexity creates tension among key principles underlying the child support system. This study simulates several potential policy regimes, estimating support for hypothetical cases and the actual child support caseload. The findings suggest that different regimes can result in vastly different amounts due and no system is ideal. The most feasible approach maybe to set support for each child at a given percentage of a nonresident parent's income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fathers are likely to pay their child support on time when presumptive child support guidelines are used flexibly in response to their specific concerns. Data from 297 court cases assigned to a child support enforcement services agency in New Hampshire were used to determine whether or not the manner in which these guidelines were applied (rigid or flexible) at the time of court action had an effect on fathers' subsequent compliance with their court-ordered child support obligations. An OLS regression found the flexible use of these guidelines to increase compliance. With respect to controls, father only had attorney, father's employment, and income withholding all increased compliance. Implications for family policy advocates are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the impact of child support policy on the financial well-being of one family experiencing divorce in Minnesota. Data were collected from a court record of a 1999 marital dissolution with joint legal and physical custody and a child support order that deviated from state guidelines. The analysis compared the needs-adjusted income the parties had while in the marriage with the needs-adjusted incomes provided by the actual child support order, and with hypothetical amounts consistent with the child support guidelines, and with the situation of sole physical custody. Financial well-being was measured using three types of ratios estimating income in relation to financial needs. Incomes were divided by (a) Federal Poverty Income Guidelines for 1999; (b) Economic Policy Institute's basic budget for Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota for 1999; and (c) USDA Parental Expenditures on Children for 1999. Results indicated that regardless of the needs standard used, the best financial outcomes were for the father's household. The deviations from the child support guidelines did not seem justified based on the financial calculations, and were not in the best interests of the children. Implications for educators were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1989, federal law requires states to have presumptive child support guidelines and review them using economic data on child-rearing costs at least once every 4 years. This article reviews the child support guidelines models adopted by states, how they relate to estimates of child-rearing expenditures, the extent that states are updating their guidelines, and some of the more controversial guidelines provisions (i.e., adjustments for shared-parenting time, additional dependent children, and low-income nonresidential parents). We find that many states are not updating their core formulas and schedules. As a result, several state guidelines produce support award amounts that are below the costs of raising children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a study conducted, to determine the extent to which individuals who regularly calculate child support award, using state formulas, do so accurately. This article capitalizes on the period of natural experimentation with state guidelines that has occurred since 1987 to determine if certain types of guidelines are more likely to be accurate and uniform in their application to a particular case specifically, the type of guideline adopted in a given state, along with various aspects of its complexity, is examined. However, it is likely that other factors could enhance the accuracy of child support calculations, including the training and experience of individuals making the calculations, as well as the availability of computer software to assist in computing awards. In the process of reconciling these differences, respondents from both state agencies were asked why these differences occurred. The most common reasons reported for discrepancies were the miscalculation of taxes, math errors, and the omission of union dues and/or child care from the calculations. However, respondents in one state indicated that both figures were different hut equally correct under the state guideline due to ambiguities in the guideline.

There is enormous variation in the magnitude of child support awards obtained by using state child support guidelines. This variation does not result from cost-of-living differences across states. In many states, nominal and inflation-adjusted support awards declined between 1988 and 1991 Overall, noncustodial parents do not pay a fair share of the costs of raising their children. The article advocates making larger awards, expressing awards as a percentage of income, and implementing a child support assurance program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A summary is provided of several Idaho Supreme Court rule amendments which will go into effect on July 1, 2012, including rules regarding civil procedure topics such as summons and child support guidelines, as well as rules on Idaho juvenile law topics such as criminal mediation. Amendments to rules on administrative conferences and the mediation of civil lawsuits are also summarized.

The article reports the decision of the Nebraska Supreme Court in the court case 'Binder v. Binder, in which the court held that the Nebraska child support guidelines' limitation on alimony awards did not apply when the divorcing parties had no children. Topics discussed include the court's consideration of the property owned by the parties; ways used by the court to decide alimony award; and laws preventing abuse of discretion.

The article discusses the Michigan Court of Appeals' ruling in the 2014 case Diez v. Davey which deals with the extent to which the undistributable earnings retained by a Subchapter S corporation could be included in the calculation of a father's income under the state's child support guidelines. U.S. taxation laws are addressed in relation to distributions of income from S corporations. Historical business practices, corporate profits, and business judgments are examined.

A review of the article "Child Support Guidelines: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" by Douglas W. Allen and Margaret F. Brinig, which appeared in the "Family Law Quarterly" journal in 2011, is presented.