Colorado Child Support; Establishment and Modification

The Colorado Legislature adopted a law on child support - this law establishes the Colorado Child Support Guidelines, and provides a set of calculations when a request for support is made on either of the child's parents. The guidelines make sure that a fair share of each parent's income and resources are given to the child, and the calculation is available as an Excel spreadsheet here. The child support calculations are subject to some interpretation, with primary consideration given to gross, not net, monthly incomes for each parent, the number of children, and the number of overnights (not day visits) for the children with each parent.  Roughly speaking you can divide the time with the children into a percentage that reflects the portion of support each parent should provide.  Parents with higher incomes must provide a higher level of support.

The child support amount calculated using the guidelines is accepted as appropriate unless either parent shows a reason for a deviation. If the noncustodial parent's monthly gross income is between $850 and $1,850 s/he may be eligible for a low-income adjustment to the amount of child support paid.  Additional non-joint children may also reduce the obligation.