Calculating Payments

The child support guidelines are a mathematical formula used to figure out the amount of child support a person should pay on a case. This formula is part of Colorado state law. The child support guidelines considers several things to set an appropriate order amount, including the gross income of both parents, how many children are supported, how many nights the child(ren) stay with each parent, and other ongoing costs like daycare and health insurance.

The guideline worksheet is the official form used in court to show the child support calculation. Since the formula can be very complicated to do by hand, online calculators like Math4Law or software available through the Colorado Judicial Branch can be used to estimate your potential support amount. These tools just provide an estimate - the exact child support order amount will be calculated when the order is established or modified by the court.