CHILD SUPPORT STATUTE CHANGED JULY 1, 2013

Mississippi’s child support statute provides presumptive percentages of take home pay as appropriate amounts for child support as follows: 14% for one child, 20% for two, 22% for three, etc. The current statute stops calculating support with a take home pay of $50,000, or a gross income of around $75,000. The new change raises the maximum take home pay to $100,000, which means the statute brings in incomes of around $130,000 and above, thereby covering over 95% of cases. This should make it easier for judges, lawyers and parties to calculate support obligations.

Mississippi Code Annotated Section 43-19-101(e) has been amended, effective July 1, 2013, to provide that:

"In cases in which the adjusted gross income as defined in this section is more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) or less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000), the court shall make a written finding in the record as to whether or not the application of the guidelines established in this section is reasonable."