Child support is a court-ordered financial obligation designed to help meet a child’s needs after parents separate, divorce, or establish paternity. It is not optional and it is not negotiable based on one parent’s feelings about the other. It belongs to the child.

Arizona uses the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, an income-shares model that considers both parents’ gross incomes, the parenting time schedule, medical insurance costs, childcare costs, other support obligations, and certain additional expenses. Both parents’ incomes go into the calculation. The parent with more parenting time typically pays less.

A child support worksheet shows exactly how the calculation works. The worksheet is only as accurate as the information entered. Income figures, parenting time days, insurance costs, and childcare amounts must all be documented and current.

Child support can be established, modified, enforced, and in some circumstances ordered retroactively or continued past age eighteen for school attendance or disability under Arizona law. Modification requires a showing of a substantial and continuing change in circumstances.