Spousal maintenance payments can be quite sizeable. They can also have a sizeable affect on how much child support is paid. In Kansas, spousal maintenance is considered both income and an expense. It must be accounted for correctly in the child support worksheet to calculate the correct child support payment.
Spousal maintenance payments are considered gross income to the receiving parent and a liability against the gross income of the paying parent. For example, Adam makes $4000 per month gross. The court has ordered him to pay spousal maintenance in the amount of $1000 per month to his ex-wife, Tina. Tina earns $2000 per month gross. Each parent's income is adjusted for the spousal maintenance payment as follows:
Adam - $5000 - $1000 = $4000
Tina - $2000 + $1000 = $3000
The incomes calculated above (Adam = $4000, Tina = $3000) are then used to calculate child support. After maintenance payments cease, a child support adjustment may then be sought by either party to then base child support on the original incomes of both parents.
eFamilyTools makes considering maintenance payments easy. Simply enter the incomes of each parent and enter the amount of the spousal maintenance payment under the appropriate parent and the rest is calculated automatically. The amount of the payment is automcatically entered as a credit to the receiving parent. We also allow more advanced options for attorneys needing more flexibility.