I am not sure about this but I do not believe that stepchildren are figured into child support. If you and your current wife have a child together then that child would figure into the calculations but then it would also allow your new wife’s income to be included with yours.
If you both have stepchildren, these children would have child support arrangements for them already. If your stepchildren are with you 100% then the parent of the stepchildren would be paying child support, resulting in the finacially responsibility for them to be placed on your spouse and the other parent instead of you. I understand that though you may realistically be paying for them, I don’t believe the guidelines are set up that way…
If the children are your biological children, they live with you, and their other parent lives with you, you would include the two children and their other parent’s income in your child support calculator. If the children are your biological children and do not live with you then you would include the amount of child support you pay for them in the calculator. Step children are not included unless you have adopted them. The same applies to your Wife.
The guidelines assume that the parent with primary custody is claiming the exemption for the children, you do not need to do any extra calculations regarding the exemptions.
Helena M. Nevicosi
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I have been divorced for over 10 years and both my ex and I are remarried, both in the last couple years. We used a mediator to help us with the seperation agreement, have joint custody and have regularly (each year at tax time) recalculated our child support obligation.
Now remarried, I have two other dependent children 24/7. She has two other dependent children thru her marriage, but her time with them is 50%.
On the child support calculator it asks about other children for which you are responsible. What are the rules (law) as it relates to this subject. My ex’s position is that if I claim my two new children, she should get to claim hers. I disagree since I have mine 100% and she only 50%.
Please clarify how this factor is applied in calculating child support. Thank you.