Health Partners Minnesota

Child support in Minnesota is defined according to guidelines of the Minnesota Child Support. Normally, the parent who is granted primary physical custody of minor children receives child support from the other parent. The amount of support paid is based on the number of children and the noncustodial parent's net monthly income.

A noncustodial parent may also be ordered to help care expenses that the custodial parent engages on a monthly basis. Courts use a formula to determine the appropriate percentage of childcare expenses per month a non-custodial parent will be ordered to contribute.

In addition, a non-custodial parent may be ordered to health insurance or contribute to health insurance costs incurred by the custodial parent or the county. The amount of support ordered may be adjusted if the parents are awarded joint physical custody or in cases where the noncustodial parent and custodial parent's share of parenting time roughly equal. In these cases, the Court determines parents of spousal support, each separately, reduced both of them based on the percentage of parenting time granted to each parent, then set off the outstanding amounts against each other to reach a figure that one parent may be fined.

Support actions for children are usually introduced by the county against the non-custodial parents or putative fathers cons in paternity cases. The county can help a custodial parent seeking to establish or strengthen support for children, or county may be reimbursed for public assistance funds that paid for the custodial parent. The county may also be seeking an increase in the cost of living or meet a person who has not fulfilled its obligations court ordered.

In most cases, the county is acting under the new expedited system of child support. In this system, all hearings are held before a magistrate in child support which has authority over all matters relating to support of minor children. Unfortunately, the absence of an agreement between the parents, the child support magistrate has no authority over issues of custody or visitation. If a parent wishes to have custody and access issues raised by the Court, he or she must appear before a judge or an arbitrator of family court.

Modification of child support may occur if the parent seeking modification can show that there has been a material change in circumstances which makes the existing order unreasonable or unfair. A review of the parties' respective incomes and expenses are only two of many factors that a court must consider before making changes in a child support order.

Joyce Cundy is a partner and family law lawyer at Cundy & Martin, LLC, Bloomington, MN.