Child support is one of the largest areas that our firm’s family law attorneys must address in court. Whether you are an unwed parent, or whether the parties have been married, so long as parents have minor children, the court must address the financial component of the children’s welfare. It was a long-established and continually perpetuated myth in New Hampshire that having “equal time” almost meant no obligation pay child support. The fact of the matter is that child support is a complex formula that is dependent on many factors that primarily derive from the parties’ respective incomes. While that well-trodden myth remains false, changes to the child support law in 2025 have made it a closer reality.
An act signed by Governor Sununu on July 3, 2024, altered how child support will be calculated for parties that equally share parenting time and have “substantially similar” incomes. Specifically, the new law adds in the following provisions (among many others) concerning child support deviations:
“[If parents] [h]ave substantially similar incomes and an approximately equal parenting schedule, there is a rebuttable presumption that a $0 child support obligation is appropriate.
Moreover, the law also changed for those with “substantially similar incomes and child substantially similar parenting schedule”
“[If parents] [h]ave substantially similar incomes and a substantially shared parenting schedule, there is a rebuttable presumption that a deviation from the child support guidelines is appropriate.”
To be clear, there are many other changes to the statute. There are many nuances to this new statute and child support in general. This blog is only serving as notice that the child support law shall change. There are reasons why this statute may not apply to your particular case. Indeed, there is likely to be substantial litigation on this subject over the next few years. However, the short version is that parties that have substantially similar incomes and parenting plans are more likely than ever to obtain a “zero” child support award.
The family law attorneys at Parnell, Michels & McKay are experienced in providing advice concerning child support modification. If you are interested in learning more about how your child support may be impacted by this new statute, please contact us to learn more.