Entrepreneur FAQ

As an entrepreneur, what do I need to know about spousal support?

As an entrepreneur, or a business owner, you know all about busy schedules. You understand the amount of work that it takes to be a successful entrepreneur or business owner. You know the time and commitment you have to sink into your business in order for it to grow. Many entrepreneurs focus most of their time and energy on their business, work long hours, and spend time away from home. Sometimes, your spouse isn’t on the same page and this can lead to the dissolution of a marriage.
It is risky starting your own business. Not only it is financially risky for you and your family, but it is subjects your marriage to risk. Divorce rate among entrepreneurs is higher than average and it is important to be aware of what to expect during a divorce.
It can be difficult to calculate spousal support for an entrepreneur or business owner. Sometimes, you don’t have the same income month to month. One month you may make double what you did the month prior. Some months you may not take a paycheck at all. You may tie up all your wealth into the business and have little cash in your personal accounts.
To be required to pay spousal support, you must be the supporting spouse and your spouse cannot be at fault for your divorce. There is no precise calculation for spousal support. The court uses its discretion in determining an amount and it often varies widely from case to case. The court will look at the length of the marriage, the standard of living the parties are accustomed to, the spouses’ relative earnings, the spouses’ capacity to earn, as well as other factors in determining spousal support.

How does an entrepreneur calculate his or her income?
Each type of business is different. There are different complexities and details to consider depending on the type of business you own. The nature of your business will play a controlling role in how you will have to calculate your income.
Tax forms and financial statements will be examined closely in order to bring clarity to what the entrepreneur’s income actually is. It is critical to prepare the most detailed cash flow statement possible as well as intelligently predicting your future income.

Hire an expert!
It would likely be very helpful to use an accountant or financial planner to help with these determinations. Whomever you hire should have forensic accounting experience and be able to calculate net cash flow as well as predict cash flow. This expert should be able to complete calculations as well as explain his calculations.

Avoid hiding income!
Sometimes as a business owner it can be tempting to hide income, especially I the midst of a divorce. It will appear that the business is worth less, therefore it would appear you have to give your spouse less. Not only is hiding income an issue, but unreported income may be an issue. Unreported income may include cash payments to your business.
Let it be clear that hiding income or failing to report income is a terrible idea. The consequences can be severe. Chances of getting caught are extremely high since both you and your spouse will likely be hiring accountants, and attorneys to pour over your financial records. If you are caught hiding income to lower a support obligation, it could amount to a federal crime penalizing you will massive fines and even jail time. The smartest move is to be open and honest about your business’s finances.

Modifying Spousal Support
In certain circumstances, spousal support may be modified. This may prove to be very beneficial to an entrepreneur or business owner. If your business suddenly is not as profitable as it was previously, there is a possibility that your spousal support obligation could be reduced. You would need to prove a substantial change in circumstance in order for the court to allow a modification in your spousal support obligation. An example of a substantial change in circumstance would be that your business was previously worth $100,000 and as of this month, it is now only worth $40,000. The change has to be more than small fluctuations.

What do I need to know about dividing stock options during divorce?

A stock option is a specific type of employment benefit in which the employer gives the employee an option to buy stock in the company in the future at a discounted or fixed rate. For this reason, dividing stock options in a divorce.
Sometimes, since stock options are not available until the future, spouses ignore them in a property division. You want to make sure that you remember to consider stock options since they are often a source of substantial wealth. If you are unsure whether your spouse has stock options, be sure to conduct a compete discovery and obtain all information on his or her employment benefits.

How are stock options classified?
Just as with any property, stock options will need to be classified as separate or community. If the stock options were granted during the marriage, they are likely community property. However, this is not always the case. Stock options are used by employers as an incentive for past and future work. If the option was granted prior to marriage but for a portion of the work completed during marriage, at least a portion of the option may be considered community property. Similarly, if a stock option was granted shortly after marriage for work completed prior to marriage, a portion of that stock option would be considered separate and therefore not subject to distribution. So it is important to look at what portion of work the stock option was granted for; before marriage or during marriage.

What is the difference between vested and unvested?
Vested refers to an option that has been exercised. Unvested on the other hand, refers to an option that is yet to be exercised. For example, in 2010 if an employee is given an option to be exercised in 2014, from 2010-2013 the option is unvested, and in 2014 the option becomes vested.
In Louisiana, stock options are subject to distribution regardless if they are vested or unvested.

How is value determined for the stock option?
Just like with other property, once the stock option is classified as either community or separate, value needs to be placed on the stock option. Often times, placing value on a stock option can be a difficult and tedious task. Several methods can be used to determine the value, and some methods are more complicated than others. It is generally suggested to hire a professional, such as a forensic accountant to help with these calculations.

How is the option divided?
Once value is assigned to the stock option, the option can be divided. The easiest way to do this is to “buy out” your spouse’s interest in the stock option by trading an asset.
For example, if the stock option has been valued at $50,000, the spouse’s interest is worth $25,000. Rather than attempting to split the stock option and potentially trigger adverse tax consequences, the non-employee spouse can agree to take $25,000 that she is owned by accepting another asset (lump sum payment, vehicle, etc.).
If a “buy out” option is not feasible, the spouses may arrange a deferred distribution model. This way, the spouses or the court may decide on a formula on how the non-employee spouse shall be paid. This is sort of a “wait and see” approach. You are less concerned about the current value of the stock option and essentially wait to pay your spouse until you receive the benefit of the stock option.

What about taxes?
Stock options worth value will result in incurring income taxes. The tax implications will vary depending on how much the option is worth along with some other factors. Transferring of a stock option may also cause some tax penalties. You should consult with an attorney and/or an accountant when completing your taxes when stock options are involved. It is important to be aware of the tax implications with stock options in advance.

What do I need to know about valuation?

In a divorce, all community property will be equitably distributed between the spouses. Before property can be distributed equally however, property must first be classified and have value set to it. Generally, value of property will be the fair market value as of the date of separation. As expected, sometimes fair market value is more easily determined than others.
For example, a bank account is a very easy asset to determine the value of; simply look at the balance of the account and that’s the value. A more difficult asset to place a value on would be benefits of a rewards account such as frequent traveler’s miles, hotel points, or any other kind of rewards points. Other difficult property to place value to are sentimental objects.
Remember, you will only need to put value to community property. Since you are dividing community property in half, you have to know what you are starting with as a whole.

Why is placing value on property difficult?
If your spouse is entitled to a portion of the value of your business, how do you determine how much that interest is worth? What about the equipment for the business? Or the furniture in your office? For obvious reasons it is often difficult to place a value to community property. It is very important to be aware of a business interest when dividing community property to be sure you are not taking less or giving more than you need to be.

How do you value a business interest?
Determining the value of a business interest is a very complicated aspect of an entrepreneur’s divorce. The entrepreneur will generally place a lower value to the business than the non-entrepreneur spouse since that would result in giving less value to the non-entrepreneur spouse. Valuation can become a very contentious part of an entrepreneur’s divorce.
There are a few different ways to determine the value of a business. First, and most simple if the parties are able, is that the parties can agree on a value of a business. If the parties are unable to agree on the value of the business, they can agree on an appraiser or accountant to determine the value. If the parties cannot agree on how to determine the value of the business, the court will appoint an appraiser or accountant to assign the business’s value.

What do I need to know about dividing my business in divorce?

After the property has been classified as community property and a value has been assigned, the value will need to be distributed between the spouses. A common way of doing this is having the entrepreneur “buy out” the non-entrepreneur spouse. Simply, the value of the business would be divided in half, and the entrepreneur would pay the non-entrepreneur that amount. In doing so, the entrepreneur has “bought out” the interest that the non-entrepreneur spouse had in the business. A “buy out” can happen in a lump sum payment, or the spouses can agree to payments over time.
Sometimes, instead of “buying out” the non-entrepreneur’s business interest with cash or monetary payment, spouses can trade another asset.

Let’s take a look at an example:
Stacy owns a bakery. She started her bakery three years before she married her husband, Ryan. During the marriage, Stacy used $10,000 of community funds to purchase new ovens and equipment for her bakery. Due to the improvements, the bakery saw a dramatic increase in revenue. In this case, if Stacy and Ryan get a divorce, Ryan will be entitled to half of the $10,000 as well as half of the value of any increase in value of the bakery during the marriage thanks to Stacy’s efforts during the marriage.
The value in the bakery thanks to Stacy’s efforts during the marriage increased by $30,000. So this means that Ryan is entitled to half of that, or $15,000. Ryan is entitled to the $15,000 plus $5,000 (from his half of the $10,000), equaling $20,000. This means that Ryan’s business interest in the bakery is worth $20,000.
Conveniently, after Stacy and Ryan got married, they bought Ryan a new truck that is currently worth $40,000. Since the truck is community property each spouse has a $20,000 interest in Ryan’s truck.
Stacy has no interest in keeping Ryan’s truck. So she chooses to trade her $20,000 interest in Ryan’s truck, for his $20,000 interest in her bakery. Through this trade, Stacy has “bought out” Ryan’s business interest in her bakery.

If the parties are on good terms, co-ownership is always another option. This allows each spouse to retain his or her interest in the business. Lastly, the business could always be sold, and then the proceeds could be split. The entrepreneur often does not want to resort to this option, but it is another way that the parties can proceed in distribution.
Regardless of which option you choose to proceed with, it is very important that you make yourself aware (either through discovery or reviewing records on your own), of the exact financial status of your or your spouse’s business. This will help keep you from taking too little or giving too much when you don’t need to.

Let’s take a look at an example situation:
Stacy and Ryan have been married for six years. Ryan is a stay at home father and cares for their three children. Stacy owns a bakery. The bakery is worth $70,000. However, Stacy presents to the court that her business is only worth $50,000. Ryan is unaware of the value of the business and has no reason to believe that Stacy would be untruthful. Based off of the information Stacy provided, the court ordered her to pay Ryan $25,000 for his interest in her business.
A year later, after the court order has already been entered and acted upon, Ryan discovers what Stacy’s bakery was actually worth. Now, in order to recover the other $10,000 that he is owed, Ryan will have to enlist the help of an attorney to take legal action against Stacy.
All of this stress, time, and money could have been saved if both parties were aware of exactly how much the business was worth (and Stacy hadn’t lied to the court of course).

I am a doctor. Will I lose my license during my divorce?

Generally, due to divorce alone, professional licenses are not affected. However, if there may be circumstances in a divorce that amount to a violation of your license. For example, if the licensing board for the license you hold is has rules and guidelines about prohibited acts, and you commit one of those acts (related or unrelated to your divorce), the state licensing board will have control over what happens with your license. In other words, the family court will not concern itself with your licensing issues (unless it adversely affects a child in your divorce). The revocation or reprimand of your license is for the state board to determine. For more information on the parameters of your license, visit http://www.lsbme.la.gov.

Will I have to work after my divorce?

In most cases, both spouses will need to work after their divorce. If you were the homemaker in your marriage, you will likely need to begin working since even if you are awarded interim and/or final spousal support since it generally is not enough income to live off. If you worked prior to your divorce, you will likely need to continue to work since your assets, including any retirement accounts, have been divided in half.
In some circumstances, if you and your spouse had a significant amount of assets, your portion of the community may be enough to live off (depending on your age and monthly expenses), without needing to begin or go back to work.
It may be beneficial to speak with a financial planner to determine if you can live off of your portion of the community assets.

What about the business?

Sometimes, the situation arises in a divorce proceeding in which the parties own a business.  This can become a complex issue to deal with when partitioning property.  Remember that property means more than just your home and your vehicle.  Property in a divorce proceeding refers to both tangible and intangible property.  Tangible property includes land, houses, structures, vehicles, boats, campers and electronics.  Intangible property includes bank accounts, retirement funds, and pensions.  In this case, property is also your business.  Any property your business owns from the building it operates out of to the income it generates will be reviewed during community partition in a divorce proceeding.

It is also important to remember that the way in which property is acquired will affect how it is partitioned.  In this case, the way in which you acquired or started your business will affect how your business will be partitioned.  Property may be acquired through purchase, gift, donation, intestate, or a will.

All property must be classified as either separate, or community.  Anything you acquired prior to getting married would be considered your separate property.  Once you are married, and you and your spouse acquire property together, all of that would be community property.   That means not only things purchased after you were married, but things donated to you and your spouse jointly and anything purchased with joint funds.  For example, the truck that you purchased when you graduated high school prior to your marriage would be considered separate property.  However, the house, camper, and savings account that you and your spouse acquired after getting married would be considered community property.  The classification of property, whether it is separate or community, does not change.  Separate property belongs completely to the person who acquired it.  Community property gives one half interest to each spouse.  If you are acquiring property with separate funds, it may be helpful to obtain a declaration of acquisition of separate property so that you will have full ownership with less confusion in the case of partition.

Now let’s apply this to your business ownership.  For partition, it will depend how you acquired your business.  For the moment, we are just going to talk about just the business itself, not the income it generates.

Let’s look at an example situation:

Prior to your marriage, you started a business as a private contractor.  You purchased the building you operate out of, all of the necessary equipment, and vehicles.  Since all of this property was purchased with your individual and separate money, it will be classified as separate property.  You operated your business for five years prior to getting married.  During that time, your business was profitable and your take home salary was $50,000 per year.  In the last five years, you took home $250,000.  This money is in a savings account and has not been spent.  Since this is income that you made while you were single, it will be classified as separate property.

You and your spouse then got married the following year.  You and your spouse were married for five years.  During those years you made $40,000 per year, totaling $200,000.  This year, you and your spouse decide to get a divorce.  Your divorce process takes one year.  In your original divorce petition you requested that the community property regime be terminated.  The income that you made during your marriage is classified as community property.  This means that $200,000 is your spouse’s community property.  This money is in a savings account.  Since you requested that the community property regime be terminated in your original divorce petition, the community regime ceased to exist and collect more property and therefore, income you have generated since then will be solely your separate property.

Let’s recap:

The $250,000 you made prior to your marriage is your separate property.  You are entitled to all of your separate property.  The $200,000 you made during the course of your marriage is community property since it was acquired during the existence of the community property regime.  Therefore, you have interest in one half of the amount, and your spouse has interest in the other half of the amount.  This means that $100,000 belongs to you, and $100,000 belongs to your spouse.

If we total these amounts, you have $350,000 that belongs to you, and $100,000 belongs to your spouse.

Let’s continue:

Since the property that was acquired to build and begin your business was acquired prior to your marriage, it belongs to you.  That is your separate property.  From this situation, looking at only the business assets alone, you will retain the business and the property belonging to it as well as $350,000.  Your spouse will retain $100,000 from the community property regime.

Of course this was a fairly simple example and rarely are partitions dealing with businesses that easy.  There is usually spending, comingling of assets as well as joint ownership interests in the business itself.

Let’s take a look at a different situation:

You and your spouse met in medical school and became doctors.  After graduating, you and your spouse got married.  Immediately after, you each opened your own private practice.  You each operated your practice for six years.  Over the course of those six years, you made $2,400,000 of income.  Your spouse made $2,700,000 of income during that time.  You and your spouse then decide to get a divorce.  In this situation, regarding only your and your spouse’s businesses, there is no separate property.  Since you both acquired your practices after you got married, all income and property acquired for the businesses was acquired during the existence of the community property regime.  This means that all property and income of each of your medical practices is community property.

In this case, during a partition, everything will be divided in half regardless of which spouse owned which business.  So, you $2,400,000 will be divided in half, leaving each spouse with $1,200,000.  Your spouse’s $2,700,000 will be divided in half, leaving each spouse with $1,350,000.  This means that total, each spouse will retain $2,550,000.

Remember that this calculation is done only looking at the assets and income of the business, not the debts and expenses.  All debts and expenses acquired during the marriage will also be community property and be split evenly between the two spouses.

To add to this example, let’s then say that your practice is in its own building which you own.  You acquired this building for your practice after you were married.  You purchased the building for $500,000 and $200,000 remains on the note.  Your spouse on the other hand, rents an office out of a larger building from a landlord at $5,000 per month.  The rent is due on the first of each month.

In this example, the note on your building is considered debt.  You have been occupying the building and you are paying the bank so that you will eventually own the building outright.  On the other hand, your spouse’s rent is not considered debt.  Rent is generally considered an expense of the business.  Here, the rent is a monthly expense.  So the only debt of the community, concerning the businesses at least, is your remaining $200,000 building note.  Since debts acquired during the community property regime are also split evenly between the spouses, $100,000 of debt will remain with you, and your spouse will be responsible for $100,000 of debt as well.

Let’s recap:

In total, you and your spouse are each keeping $2,550,000.  Additionally, each spouse will be responsible for $100,000 worth or debt.  After paying the debt, each spouse will be left with $2,450,000.

Again, this was a relatively simple situation.  As previously mentioned, situations become more complex when there is comingling of funds, or when a spouse helps the other’s business by funding it with separate property.

Let’s take a look at a reimbursement situation:

Reimbursement is a claim for a portion of money to be paid back.  Often in property partitions we see reimbursement claims for rent or for mortgage depending on which spouse will remain in the martial home, and which spouse must seek residence elsewhere.  But what about business reimbursement?  Can a spouse file claim for reimbursement when they spent their own separate money to further the other’s business?

Well, it depends.  As you have probably figured out by this point, timing has a lot to do with classification of property and how it will later be partitioned.   So these questions boil down to a big picture question.  Were community funds used to benefit the community, or were separate funds used to benefit the community.

For example, let’s say that you and your spouse met in 2010.  At that time, you had $20,000 in a personal savings account.  You have documentation showing the balance of the account, and that the date is before the date of marriage.  In 2011, you and your spouse got married.  Since the date of marriage you have not contributed anything to your separate account.  Now, let’s say that your spouse wants to open their own business.  To help your spouse get started, you contribute $12,000 from your separate account to your spouse’s business.

Let’s pause for a minute and recap:

The $12,000 that you contributed was separate property (money), from a separate account.  Your spouse’s new business is community property.  Why?  Because it was acquired during the marriage and the existence of the community property regime.  This also means that any income your spouse takes home from the business is also community property.

In this case, you used separate property to fulfill a community obligation.  When this occurs, you have a reimbursement claim for one half of the money that you contributed.  Why only one half and not all of what you contributed?  Since you contributed to a community obligation you also received benefit from it.  After all, your spouse made income from the business, and your spouse’s income benefits both of you.

So here, since you contributed $12,000 of separate funds to a community obligation, you have a reimbursement claim for $6,000.

Let’s take a look at the opposite situation:

Still sticking with reimbursement claims, we have another situation that often arises.  What happens when community funds are used to fulfill a separate obligation?  It’s a very similar answer.  There will likely be a one half reimbursement claim.

For example, your spouse owns a business prior to your marriage.  Your spouse purchased the building that the business operates out of.  There is $50,000 left on the building note when you and your spouse get married.  Since this $50,000 of debt was acquired prior to the marriage and prior to the existence of the community property regime, it is your spouse’s separate debt.  You and your spouse both continue to work.  You both deposit your paycheck into a joint account.  Since your paychecks (income) are acquired during the marriage, they are automatically classified as community property.

You and your spouse decide to take money from the joint account and pay off the $50,000 building note.  One year later, you and your spouse decide to get a divorce.  When property is being partitioned, you will have a reimbursement claim for one half of $50,000.  Why not all of it?  Because the $50,000 was never all of your money.  It was always community money.  The community money was then used to fulfill the separate debt of your spouse.  Since everything in the community is then divided equally during property partitioning, you have a one half reimbursement claim for your portion of the community money spent of your spouse’s debt.

Partitioning property concerning a business can often be a complex issue.  However, the examples above may be helpful in understanding the process of how partition works.

Does it matter who is the owner of the business?

More important than whose name is listed as the business owner, is when the business was established.  If the business was established before marriage and before the community property regime started, then the business is separate property.  If it is separate property then, in the case of partition, the business would go to the spouse who owns the house.

If the business was established during the marriage, then the business will be community property, regardless of whose name is listed as the business owner.  One spouse will generally retain the house by essentially “buying out” the other spouse’s half interest in the house.  Another options would be to sell the business if possible.  Once the business is sold, the proceeds from the sale would be divided equally between the spouses.

Does business travel affect custody outcomes?

Depending on your type of business, travelling may be a necessity.  You may have to travel to buy or sell product, meet with investors or customers, or simply have to travel due to the nature of your business.  For a traveling entrepreneur or business owner that has children, custody issues may arise.

Travel of any kind, especially business travel may affect your custody.  Occasional travel will likely not have as big of an impact as frequent travel, as business travel often is.

It is important to remember that the court’s ultimate goal in a custody proceeding is to serve the best interest of the child.  The court will work on setting a steady schedule, with a stable, healthy environment for the child.  The court will not be inclined to give a parent custody when the parent travels and is out of town for weeks out of the month.  If your business venture requires that you travel three weeks out of every month, a custody plan giving you visitation every other week is simply not feasible.  If your work requires that you travel on the weekends, that too presents difficulties with giving you every other weekend visitation.

Let’s take a look at an example situation:
Eric and Haley are married and have a daughter named Elizabeth.  They live in Louisiana.  Eric works as a salesman for a medical supply company.  His job requires him to travel throughout the country and meet with perspective clients.  On average, Eric is out of town four days a week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).  Two weeks out of the month, Eric’s travel takes him out of the state.

Haley on the other hand, works from 9am to 3pm, Monday through Friday. Haley works in town, never travels, and is able to drop Elizabeth off at school in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon.

You can see how a custody arrangement with Eric having Elizabeth every other week would be a struggle with his constant traveling.  Even a custody arrangement where Eric has visitation with Elizabeth every other weekend wouldn’t work since Eric works weekends out of town.

What does this mean for my custody case?
If you travel frequently for business, it is likely that your former spouse will be awarded more custody from the court than you simply because you are not present to exercise visitation.

What can I do to change this?
Logically, if the issue preventing you from getting more custody and visitation with your child is because you are out of town for business, cutting back on travel and your entrepreneurial lifestyle would remedy this issue.  If your child is the most important thing in your life, and you would do anything to be with your child more, demonstrate that to the court.  Reduce your travel obligations, and build a constant, stable environment for your child to be with you in.

What if I can’t manage a traditional custody schedule?

First let’s discuss what a traditional custody schedule is.  An arrangement in which the child spends one week with the mother and the next with the father is a good example of a traditional custody schedule.  Another example would be every other weekend, meaning the child is with the mother one weekend and with the father the next weekend and the time during the week is given to the domiciliary parent.  Holidays are usually factored in to traditional custody arrangements.  Father’s Day and Mother’s Day would go to the corresponding parent, and other holidays would be traded on and off every year.  Entrepreneurs and business owners often work unpredictable hours.  If a traditional custody schedule is not something that you can manage, the first step is to determine what will.

There is no rule in Louisiana that says custody arrangements must be done a certain way.  You can be creative and work on a schedule with your former spouse that will fit both of your schedules, as well as serve the best interest of your child.

Let’s take a look at an example situation:
Thomas and Lindsey live in Louisiana and have a seven-year-old son named Lucas.  Thomas owns his own business and as a business owner, is “on-call” from Tuesday to Thursday.  Thomas works from 8am-5pm on Fridays.  Thomas also schedules himself to be at work all day Saturday, from 8am-5pm.  With a schedule like this, you can see how neither of the aforementioned traditional arrangements would work for Thomas.  So what can he do?

Thomas and Lindsey sit down and discuss what would work for them.  Thomas loves Lucas and wants to spend as much time with him as he can, so Thomas changes his Friday work schedule to end earlier in the afternoon.  He also changes his Saturday schedule begin at 2pm.  Thomas proposes that he will pick Lucas up from school at 3:30pm on Friday afternoons.  Lucas will then stay with Thomas from Friday afternoon until Saturday around 1pm, before Thomas leaves for work.  Lucas will then go with Lindsey from Saturday at 1pm until Sunday morning.  Thomas will pick Lucas up for church, and spend all day Sunday and Monday with Lucas.  Lindsey will then pick Lucas up at 7am on Tuesday morning and bring him to school.  Tuesday through Thursday when Thomas is “on-call”, Lucas will stay with Lindsey as she will be the domiciliary parent.

This schedule works with both Thomas and Lindsey’s work schedules, and gives each of them a reasonable amount of time with Lucas.  As you can see, Thomas and Lindsey didn’t use any sort of template to create this schedule.  You can get as creative as you want so long as your schedule is feasible and does not interrupt the daily life of the child too much.  You can create a schedule that fits your untraditional business hours.

What if my business becomes successful after we divide our community property?

As with many issues that arise during divorce, timing is everything.  Sometimes it takes years for a startup business to become profitable.  So what happens if after your community property is partitioned (divided), your business suddenly becomes very profitable?

Luckily for you, a property settlement is final (with a few exceptions).  As long as you were honest about what your business was worth during the partitioning, there likely will be no plausible reason for modification.  Since your settlement is final, your spouse cannot return and receive further profits from your business.  As far as community property is concerned, your spouse is entitled to nothing further regardless of how profitable or unprofitable your business becomes.

Spousal support on the other hand is a little different.  If you are required to pay final spousal support, it can be modified if spousal support was set in a court order.  In order for your spousal support obligation to increase, your ability to pay would have needed to increase, and your former spouse’s needs would have had to increase.  The court will consider these factors as well as the standard of living during the marriage and determine whether or not an increase in spousal support is warranted.

How does being an entrepreneur affect my child support obligation?

As we have discussed, property division and child custody issues sometimes are complex for entrepreneurs or business owners going through divorce.  But what about child support?

Child support actually is one of the easier matters to settle in divorce.  Louisiana uses the Child Support Guideline and a set calculation to determine child support obligations.

Child support guidelines are established in each state in hopes that support orders will be fair and consistent.  These guidelines help the court in determining the correct child support amount in each case.

Child support is a continuous obligation of both parents.  Many people believe the misconception that only men pay child support, but that is not the case.  Children are entitled to share in the current income of both parents and should not be economic victims of divorce.  In order to protect the child from suffering economically, the child support guidelines attempt to identify a percentage of parental income that is spent on the child in intact families, and mirror that in divorced families.  In other words, the court is acting as a safeguard so that your child’s quality of life does not diminish economically due to your divorce.  The courts do not want children living in poverty due to family disruption.  The courts want to ensure that children from divorced household have the same opportunities available to children from intact families.  For example, in a household with married parents that both work, let’s say the total monthly income in $3,000.  Of that $3,000, the father makes $1,800 and the mother makes $1,200.  That means the father makes 60% of the total income, and the mother makes 40% of the total income.  If you look on the child support schedule below, and follow the first column down to $3,000, you will see that for one child the support obligation is $548.  Assuming that the parents have joint custody and there are no extraordinary expenses, the father will be responsible for $328.80, and the mother will be responsible for $219.20.

In Louisiana, the child support guidelines include something called The Incomes Share approach.  The Incomes Share approach incorporates a numerical schedule of support amounts.  This schedule is used to estimate child-rearing costs for different levels of income.  The schedule provides estimates depending on the number of children for each couple.

The schedule is based off of the couple’s combined adjusted monthly gross income.  Gross income means the income from any source including, but not limited to:

  • Wages
  • Salaries
  • Bonuses
  • Pensions
  • Social Security Benefits
  • Unemployment Benefits
  • Workers’ Compensation Benefits
  • Spousal Support from a previous obligation

Gross income does not include:

  • Child support received
  • Benefits from any public assistance programs
  • Per Diem Allowances

Adjusted gross income means gross income, minus amounts from pre-existing child support or spousal support obligations paid to a third party, or on behalf of a child who is not the subject of this child support proceeding.  Therefore, combined adjusted gross income is the adjusted gross income amounts for each parent added together.

The schedule of support to be used for determining the basic child support obligation is as follows:

ChildSupport

             
Combined Adjusted Monthly Gross Income One Child Two Children

(Total)

Three Children

(Total)

Four Children

(Total)

Five Children

(Total)

Six Children

(Total)

0-600.00 100 100 100 100 100 100
650.00 102 103 104 106 107 108
700.00 136 138 139 141 142 144
750.00 165 172 174 176 178 179
800.00 174 206 208 211 213 215
850.00 182 240 243 245 248 251
900.00 189 274 277 280 283 286
950.00 197 305 310 313 317 320
1000.00 203 315 339 342 346 350
1050.00 210 325 367 371 375 379
1100.00 216 335 396 400 405 409
1150.00 226 345 425 429 434 439
1200.00 236 354 444 458 463 468
1250.00 245 364 456 487 493 498
1300.00 255 374 469 516 522 528
1350.00 264 385 481 542 551 557
1400.00 273 398 494 556 581 587
1450.00 282 411 506 570 610 617
1500.00 290 423 519 584 637 646
1550.00 299 435 531 598 653 676
1600.00 308 447 545 614 670 717
1650.00 316 459 560 630 688 736
1700.00 325 472 574 647 705 755
1750.00 333 484 588 663 723 774
1800.00 342 497 603 679 741 792
1850.00 351 510 617 695 758 811
1900.00 360 523 631 711 776 830
1950.00 369 536 643 724 790 846
2000.00 378 549 655 737 805 865
2050.00 388 562 667 751 819 885
2100.00 396 575 679 764 834 903
2150.00 405 588 693 778 852 926
2200.00 414 601 709 792 871 946
2250.00 423 614 724 808 889 967
2300.00 432 627 739 825 908 987
2350.00 441 639 753 840 924 1004
2400.00 449 652 768 854 939 1021
2450.00 458 664 782 868 955 1038
2500.00 466 676 796 882 970 1055
2550.00 475 689 811 896 986 1072
2600.00 484 701 825 911 1002 1089
2650.00 492 714 839 925 1017 1106
2700.00 501 726 854 939 1033 1122
2750.00 510 739 868 953 1048 1139
2800.00 518 751 882 967 1064 1156
2850.00 526 763 896 981 1079 1173
2900.00 533 776 911 995 1095 1190
2950.00 540 788 925 1009 1110 1207
3000.00 548 801 939 1023 1126 1224
3050.00 555 813 954 1037 1141 1240
3100.00 563 825 968 1051 1156 1257
3150.00 570 837 982 1065 1172 1274
3200.00 577 850 996 1082 1190 1293
3250.00 585 862 1011 1100 1210 1315
3300.00 592 874 1026 1118 1230 1337
3350.00 600 887 1040 1137 1250 1359
3400.00 607 898 1054 1153 1268 1379
3450.00 614 909 1066 1169 1286 1397
3500.00 622 919 1079 1185 1303 1416
3550.00 629 930 1092 1200 1320 1435
3600.00 636 941 1104 1216 1338 1454
3650.00 644 951 1117 1232 1355 1473
3700.00 651 962 1130 1248 1373 1492
3750.00 659 973 1142 1264 1390 1511
3800.00 666 983 1155 1279 1407 1530
3850.00 673 994 1168 1295 1425 1549
3900.00 681 1004 1181 1311 1442 1568
3950.00 688 1015 1193 1327 1459 1586
4000.00 696 1026 1206 1343 1477 1605
4050.00 702 1036 1219 1358 1494 1624
4100.00 708 1047 1231 1374 1512 1643
4150.00 715 1058 1244 1389 1528 1661
4200.00 721 1067 1255 1401 1542 1676
4250.00 728 1077 1266 1414 1555 1690
4300.00 734 1086 1277 1426 1568 1705
4350.00 741 1096 1287 1438 1582 1719
4400.00 748 1105 1298 1450 1595 1734
4450.00 754 1115 1309 1462 1609 1749
4500.00 761 1124 1320 1475 1622 1763
4550.00 767 1134 1331 1487 1636 1778
4600.00 774 1143 1342 1499 1649 1792
4650.00 780 1153 1353 1511 1662 1807
4700.00 787 1163 1364 1523 1676 1822
4750.00 793 1172 1375 1536 1689 1836
4800.00 800 1182 1386 1548 1703 1851
4850.00 806 1188 1393 1556 1711 1860
4900.00 813 1194 1399 1563 1719 1869
4950.00 820 1200 1406 1570 1727 1877
5000.00 826 1206 1412 1577 1735 1886
5050.00 833 1212 1419 1585 1743 1895
5100.00 839 1218 1425 1592 1751 1903
5150.00 846 1224 1432 1599 1759 1912
5200.00 852 1230 1438 1606 1767 1921
5250.00 859 1236 1445 1614 1775 1929
5300.00 865 1242 1451 1621 1783 1938
5350.00 870 1248 1458 1628 1791 1947
5400.00 874 1255 1464 1635 1799 1955
5450.00 879 1261 1471 1643 1807 1964
5500.00 883 1266 1477 1650 1815 1973
5550.00 887 1272 1483 1657 1822 1981
5600.00 891 1277 1490 1664 1830 1989
5650.00 895 1283 1496 1671 1838 1998
5700.00 899 1289 1502 1678 1846 2006
5750.00 903 1294 1508 1685 1853 2015
5800.00 907 1300 1515 1692 1861 2023
5850.00 911 1305 1521 1699 1869 2032
5900.00 915 1311 1527 1706 1877 2040
5950.00 919 1316 1534 1713 1885 2048
6000.00 923 1322 1540 1720 1892 2057
6050.00 927 1328 1546 1727 1900 2065
6100.00 931 1333 1553 1734 1908 2074
6150.00 935 1339 1559 1741 1916 2082
6200.00 939 1344 1565 1748 1923 2091
6250.00 943 1350 1572 1756 1931 2099
6300.00 947 1355 1578 1763 1939 2108
6350.00 951 1361 1584 1770 1947 2116
6400.00 955 1367 1591 1777 1954 2124
6450.00 959 1372 1597 1784 1962 2133
6500.00 963 1378 1603 1791 1970 2142
6550.00 968 1384 1610 1799 1978 2151
6600.00 972 1390 1617 1806 1987 2160
6650.00 976 1396 1624 1814 1995 2168
6700.00 980 1402 1630 1821 2003 2177
6750.00 985 1408 1637 1829 2011 2186
6800.00 989 1414 1644 1836 2020 2195
6850.00 993 1419 1650 1843 2028 2204
6900.00 998 1425 1657 1851 2036 2213
6950.00 1002 1431 1664 1858 2044 2222
7000.00 1006 1437 1670 1866 2052 2231
7050.00 1010 1443 1677 1873 2060 2240
7100.00 1014 1449 1683 1880 2068 2248
7150.00 1018 1454 1690 1887 2076 2257
7200.00 1022 1460 1696 1894 2084 2265
7250.00 1027 1465 1702 1901 2092 2274
7300.00 1031 1471 1709 1909 2099 2282
7350.00 1035 1477 1715 1916 2107 2291
7400.00 1039 1482 1721 1923 2115 2299
7450.00 1043 1488 1728 1930 2123 2308
7500.00 1047 1494 1734 1937 2131 2316
7550.00 1051 1499 1741 1944 2139 2325
7600.00 1055 1505 1747 1951 2146 2333
7650.00 1059 1511 1753 1958 2154 2342
7700.00 1063 1516 1760 1966 2162 2350
7750.00 1067 1522 1766 1973 2170 2359
7800.00 1071 1528 1772 1980 2178 2367
7850.00 1075 1533 1779 1987 2186 2376
7900.00 1079 1539 1785 1994 2193 2384
7950.00 1084 1545 1791 2001 2201 2393
8000.00 1088 1550 1789 2008 2209 2401
8050.00 1092 1556 1804 2016 2217 2410
8100.00 1096 1562 1811 2023 2225 2419
8150.00 1100 1568 1818 2031 2234 2428
8200.00 1105 1574 1825 2039 2243 2438
8250.00 1110 1581 1833 2047 2252 2448
8300.00 1114 1587 1840 2056 2261 2458
8350.00 1119 1594 1848 2064 2271 2468
8400.00 1123 1600 1855 2073 2280 2478
8450.00 1128 1607 1863 2081 2289 2488
8500.00 1132 1613 1871 2089 2298 2498
8550.00 1137 1620 1878 2098 2308 2508
8600.00 1142 1626 1886 2106 2317 2519
8650.00 1146 1633 1893 2115 2326 2529
8700.00 1151 1639 1901 2123 2336 2539
8750.00 1155 1646 1908 2132 2345 2549
8800.00 1160 1652 1916 2140 2354 2559
8850.00 1164 1659 1923 2149 2363 2569
8900.00 1169 1665 1931 2157 2373 2579
8950.00 1174 1672 1939 2165 2382 2589
9000.00 1178 1678 1946 2174 2391 2599
9050.00 1183 1685 1954 2182 2400 2609
9100.00 1187 1691 1961 2191 2410 2619
9150.00 1192 1698 1969 2199 2419 2629
9200.00 1196 1704 1976 2208 2428 2640
9250.00 1201 1711 1984 2216 2438 2650
9300.00 1205 1717 1991 2224 2447 2660
9350.00 1210 1724 1999 2233 2456 2670
9400.00 1215 1730 2007 2241 2465 2680
9450.00 1219 1737 2014 2250 2475 2690
9500.00 1224 1743 2022 2258 2484 2700
9550.00 1228 1750 2029 2267 2493 2710
9600.00 1233 1756 2037 2275 2503 2720
9650.00 1237 1763 2044 2283 2512 2730
9700.00 1242 1769 2052 2292 2521 2740
9750.00 1246 1776 2059 2300 2530 2751
9800.00 1251 1782 2067 2309 2540 2761
9850.00 1256 1789 2074 2317 2549 2771
9900.00 1260 1795 2082 2326 2558 2781
9950.00 1265 1802 2090 2334 2567 2791
10000.00 1269 1808 2097 2343 2577 2801
10050.00 1274 1815 2105 2351 2586 2811
10100.00 1278 1821 2112 2359 2595 2821
10150.00 1283 1828 2120 2368 2605 2831
10200.00 1287 1834 2127 2376 2614 2841
10250.00 1292 1841 2135 2385 2623 2851
10300.00 1297 1847 2142 2393 2632 2861
10350.00 1301 1854 2150 2402 2642 2872
10400.00 1306 1860 2158 2410 2651 2882
10450.00 1310 1867 2165 2418 2660 2892
10500.00 1315 1873 2173 2427 2670 2902
10550.00 1319 1880 2180 2435 2679 2912
10600.00 1324 1886 2188 2444 2688 2922
10650.00 1329 1893 2195 2452 2697 2932
10700.00 1333 1899 2203 2461 2707 2942
10750.00 1337 1905 2209 2468 2715 2951
10800.00 1341 1910 2215 2474 2722 2959
10850.00 1345 1915 2221 2481 2729 2967
10900.00 1348 1920 2227 2487 2736 2974
10950.00 1352 1926 2233 2494 2743 2982
11000.00 1356 1931 2239 2500 2750 2990
11050.00 1359 1936 2244 2507 2758 2998
11100.00 1363 1941 2250 2513 2765 3005
11150.00 1367 1946 2256 2520 2772 3013
11200.00 1370 1951 2262 2526 2779 3021
11250.00 1374 1956 2268 2533 2786 3029
11300.00 1378 1961 2273 2539 2793 3036
11350.00 1381 1967 2279 2546 2800 3044
11400.00 1385 1972 2285 2552 2808 3052
11450.00 1389 1977 2291 2559 2815 3060
11500.00 1392 1982 2297 2565 2822 3067
11550.00 1396 1987 2302 2572 2829 3075
11600.00 1400 1992 2308 2578 2836 3083
11650.00 1403 1997 2314 2585 2843 3091
11700.00 1407 2002 2320 2591 2850 3098
11750.00 1411 2008 2326 2598 2858 3106
11800.00 1414 2013 2331 2604 2865 3114
11850.00 1418 2018 2337 2611 2872 3122
11900.00 1422 2023 2343 2617 2879 3129
11950.00 1425 2028 2349 2624 2886 3137
12000.00 1429 2033 2355 2630 2893 3145
12050.00 1433 2038 2360 2637 2900 3153
12100.00 1436 2043 2366 2643 2907 3160
12150.00 1440 2049 2372 2650 2915 3168
12200.00 1444 2054 2378 2656 2922 3176
12250.00 1447 2059 2384 2663 2929 3184
12300.00 1451 2064 2390 2669 2936 3191
12350.00 1455 2069 2395 2676 2943 3199
12400.00 1458 2074 2401 2682 2950 3207
12450.00 1462 2079 2407 2689 2957 3215
12500.00 1466 2084 2413 2695 2965 3222
12550.00 1469 2090 2419 2702 2972 3230
12600.00 1473 2095 2424 2708 2979 3238
12650.00 1477 2100 2430 2715 2986 3246
12700.00 1480 2105 2436 2721 2993 3254
12750.00 1484 2110 2442 2727 3000 3261
12800.00 1488 2115 2448 2734 3007 3269
12850.00 1491 2120 2453 2740 3015 3277
12900.00 1495 2125 2459 2747 3022 3285
12950.00 1499 2130 2465 2753 3029 3292
13000.00 1502 2136 2471 2760 3036 3300
13050.00 1506 2141 2477 2766 3043 3308
13100.00 1510 2146 2482 2773 3050 3316
13150.00 1513 2151 2488 2779 3057 3323
13200.00 1517 2156 2494 2786 3064 3331
13250.00 1521 2161 2500 2792 3072 3339
13300.00 1524 2166 2506 2799 3079 3347
13350.00 1528 2171 2511 2805 3086 3354
13400.00 1532 2177 2517 2812 3093 3362
13450.00 1536 2182 2523 2818 3100 3370
13500.00 1539 2187 2529 2825 3107 3378
13550.00 1543 2192 2535 2831 3114 3385
13600.00 1547 2197 2541 2838 3122 3393
13650.00 1550 2202 2546 2844 3129 3401
13700.00 1554 2207 2552 2851 3136 3409
13750.00 1558 2212 2558 2857 3143 3416
13800.00 1561 2218 2564 2864 3150 3424
13850.00 1565 2223 2570 2870 3157 3432
13900.00 1568 2227 2575 2876 3164 3439
13950.00 1570 2230 2577 2879 3166 3442
14000.00 1572 2232 2579 2881 3169 3445
14050.00 1574 2234 2581 2883 3172 3448
14100.00 1576 2236 2584 2886 3175 3451
14150.00 1577 2239 2586 2888 3177 3454
14200.00 1579 2241 2588 2891 3180 3456
14250.00 1581 2243 2590 2893 3182 3459
14300.00 1583 2245 2592 2895 3185 3462
14350.00 1584 2247 2594 2897 3187 3465
14400.00 1586 2249 2596 2900 3190 3467
14450.00 1588 2251 2598 2902 3192 3470
14500.00 1590 2253 2600 2904 3195 3473
14550.00 1591 2256 2602 2907 3197 3475
14600.00 1593 2258 2604 2909 3200 3478
14650.00 1595 2260 2606 2911 3202 3481
14700.00 1596 2262 2608 2913 3205 3484
14750.00 1598 2264 2610 2916 3207 3486
14800.00 1600 2266 2612 2918 3210 3489
14850.00 1602 2268 2614 2920 3212 3492
14900.00 1603 2270 2617 2923 3215 3495
14950.00 1605 2272 2619 2925 3217 3497
15000.00 1607 2274 2621 2927 3220 3500
15050.00 1608 2277 2623 2929 3222 3503
15100.00 1610 2279 2625 2932 3225 3506
15150.00 1612 2281 2627 2934 3227 3508
15200.00 1614 2283 2629 2936 3230 3511
15250.00 1615 2285 2631 2939 3232 3514
15300.00 1617 2287 2633 2941 3235 3516
15350.00 1619 2289 2635 2943 3238 3519
15400.00 1620 2291 2637 2945 3240 3522
15450.00 1622 2293 2639 2948 3243 3525
15500.00 1624 2295 2641 2950 3245 3527
15550.00 1626 2298 2643 2952 3248 3530
15600.00 1627 2300 2645 2955 3250 3533
15650.00 1629 2302 2647 2957 3253 3536
15700.00 1631 2304 2649 2959 3255 3538
15750.00 1632 2306 2651 2961 3258 3541
15800.00 1634 2308 2653 2964 3260 3544
15850.00 1636 2310 2655 2966 3263 3547
15900.00 1638 2312 2657 2968 3265 3549
15950.00 1639 2314 2659 2971 3268 3552
16000.00 1641 2316 2662 2973 3270 3555
16050.00 1643 2319 2664 2975 3273 3557
16100.00 1644 2321 2666 2977 3275 3560
16150.00 1646 2323 2668 2980 3278 3563
16200.00 1648 2325 2670 2982 3280 3566
16250.00 1650 2327 2672 2984 3283 3568
16300.00 1651 2329 2674 2987 3285 3571
16350.00 1653 2331 2676 2989 3288 3574
16400.00 1655 2333 2678 2991 3290 3577
16450.00 1656 2335 2680 2994 3293 3579
16500.00 1658 2338 2682 2996 3295 3582
16550.00 1660 2340 2684 2998 3298 3585
16600.00 1662 2342 2686 3000 3300 3588
16650.00 1663 2344 2688 3003 3303 3590
16700.00 1665 2346 2690 3005 3305 3593
16750.00 1667 2348 2692 3007 3308 3596
16800.00 1668 2350 2694 3010 3310 3598
16850.00 1670 2352 2696 3012 3313 3601
16900.00 1672 2354 2698 3014 3315 3604
16950.00 1674 2356 2700 3016 3318 3607
17000.00 1675 2359 2702 3019 3321 3609
17050.00 1677 2361 2705 3021 3323 3612
17100.00 1679 2363 2707 3023 3326 3615
17150.00 1680 2365 2709 3026 3328 3618
17200.00 1682 2367 2711 3028 3331 3620
17250.00 1684 2369 2713 3030 3333 3623
17300.00 1686 2371 2715 3032 3336 3626
17350.00 1689 2376 2721 3039 3343 3634
17400.00 1693 2382 2727 3046 3351 3642
17450.00 1697 2387 2733 3053 3359 3651
17500.00 1701 2393 2740 3060 3366 3659
17550.00 1705 2398 2746 3067 3374 3667
17600.00 1708 2403 2752 3074 3382 3676
17650.00 1712 2409 2758 3081 3389 3684
17700.00 1716 2414 2765 3088 3397 3692
17750.00 1720 2420 2771 3095 3405 3701
17800.00 1724 2425 2777 3102 3412 3709
17850.00 1727 2430 2783 3109 3420 3717
17900.00 1731 2436 2790 3116 3428 3726
17950.00 1735 2441 2796 3123 3435 3734
18000.00 1739 2447 2802 3130 3443 3743
18050.00 1743 2452 2808 3137 3451 3751
18100.00 1746 2457 2815 3144 3458 3759
18150.00 1750 2463 2821 3151 3466 3768
18200.00 1754 2468 2827 3158 3474 3776
18250.00 1758 2474 2833 3165 3481 3784
18300.00 1762 2479 2840 3172 3489 3793
18350.00 1766 2485 2846 3179 3497 3801
18400.00 1769 2490 2852 3186 3504 3809
18450.00 1773 2495 2858 3193 3512 3818
18500.00 1777 2501 2865 3200 3520 3826
18550.00 1781 2506 2871 3207 3527 3834
18600.00 1785 2512 2877 3214 3535 3843
18650.00 1788 2517 2883 3221 3543 3851
18700.00 1792 2522 2890 3228 3550 3859
18750.00 1796 2528 2896 3235 3558 3868
18800.00 1800 2533 2902 3242 3566 3876
18850.00 1804 2539 2908 3249 3574 3884
18900.00 1807 2544 2915 3256 3581 3893
18950.00 1811 2549 2921 3263 3589 3901
19000.00 1815 2555 2927 3270 3597 3909
19050.00 1819 2560 2933 3277 3604 3918
19100.00 1823 2566 2940 3284 3612 3926
19150.00 1826 2571 2946 3291 3620 3935
19200.00 1830 2576 2952 3298 3627 3943
19250.00 1834 2582 2958 3305 3635 3951
19300.00 1838 2587 2965 3311 3643 3960
19350.00 1842 2593 2971 3318 3650 3968
19400.00 1846 2598 2977 3325 3658 3976
19450.00 1849 2603 2983 3332 3666 3985
19500.00 1853 2609 2990 3339 3673 3993
19550.00 1857 2614 2996 3346 3681 4001
19600.00 1861 2620 3002 3353 3689 4010
19650.00 1865 2625 3008 3360 3696 4018
19700.00 1868 2630 3015 3367 3704 4026
19750.00 1872 2636 3021 3374 3712 4035
19800.00 1876 2641 3027 3381 3719 4043
19850.00 1880 2647 3033 3388 3727 4051
19900.00 1884 2652 3040 3395 3735 4060
19950.00 1887 2657 3046 3402 3742 4068
20000.00 1891 2663 3052 3409 3750 4076
20050.00 1895 2668 3058 3416 3758 4085
20100.00 1899 2674 3065 3423 3766 4093
20150.00 1903 2679 3071 3430 3773 4101
20200.00 1906 2684 3077 3437 3781 4110
20250.00 1910 2690 3083 3444 3789 4118
20300.00 1914 2695 3090 3451 3796 4127
20350.00 1918 2701 3096 3458 3804 4135
20400.00 1922 2706 3102 3465 3812 4143
20450.00 1925 2711 3108 3472 3819 4152
20500.00 1929 2717 3115 3479 3827 4160
20550.00 1933 2722 3121 3486 3835 4168
20600.00 1937 2728 3127 3493 3842 4177
20650.00 1941 2733 3133 3500 3850 4185
20700.00 1945 2738 3140 3507 3858 4193
20750.00 1948 2744 3146 3514 3865 4202
20800.00 1952 2749 3152 3521 3873 4210
20850.00 1956 2755 3158 3528 3881 4218
20900.00 1960 2760 3165 3535 3888 4227
20950.00 1964 2765 3171 3542 3896 4235
21000.00 1967 2771 3177 3549 3904 4243
21050.00 1971 2776 3183 3556 3911 4242
21100.00 1975 2782 3190 3563 3919 4260
21150.00 1979 2787 3196 3570 3927 4268
21200.00 1983 2792 3202 3577 3934 4277
21250.00 1986 2798 3208 3584 3942 4285
21300.00 1990 2803 3215 3591 3950 4293
21350.00 1994 2809 3221 3598 3957 4302
21400.00 1998 2814 3227 3605 3965 4310
21450.00 2002 2819 3233 3612 3973 4318
21500.00 2005 2825 3240 3619 3981 4327
21550.00 2009 2830 3246 3626 3988 4335
21600.00 2013 2836 3252 3633 3996 4344
21650.00 2017 2841 3258 3640 4004 4352
21700.00 2021 2846 3265 3647 4011 4360
21750.00 2025 2852 3271 3654 4019 4369
21800.00 2028 2857 3277 3661 4027 4377
21850.00 2032 2863 3283 3668 4034 4385
21900.00 2036 2868 3290 3675 4042 4394
21950.00 2040 2873 3296 3681 4050 4402
22000.00 2044 2879 3302 3688 4057 4410
22050.00 2047 2884 3308 3695 4065 4419
22100.00 2051 2890 3315 3702 4073 4427
22150.00 2055 2895 3321 3709 4080 4435
22200.00 2059 2900 3327 3716 4088 4444
22250.00 2063 2906 3333 3723 4096 4452
22300.00 2066 2911 3340 3730 4103 4460
22350.00 2070 2917 3346 3737 4111 4469
22400.00 2074 2922 3352 3744 4119 4477
22450.00 2078 2927 3358 3751 4126 4485
22500.00 2082 2933 3365 3758 4134 4494
22550.00 2085 2938 3371 3765 4142 4502
22600.00 2089 2944 3377 3772 4149 4510
22650.00 2093 2949 3383 3779 4157 4519
22700.00 2097 2954 3390 3786 4165 4527
22750.00 2101 2960 3396 3793 4173 4536
22800.00 2105 2965 3402 3800 4180 4544
22850.00 2108 2971 3408 3807 4188 4552
22900.00 2112 2976 3415 3814 4196 4561
22950.00 2116 2981 3421 3821 4203 4569
23000.00 2120 2987 3427 3828 4211 4577
23050.00 2124 2992 3433 3835 4219 4586
23100.00 2127 2998 3440 3842 4226 4594
23150.00 2131 3003 3446 3849 4234 4602
23200.00 2135 3008 3452 3856 4242 4611
23250.00 2139 3014 3458 3863 4249 4619
23300.00 2143 3019 3465 3870 4257 4627
23350.00 2146 3025 3471 3877 4265 4636
23400.00 2150 3030 3477 3884 4272 4644
23450.00 2154 3035 3483 3891 4280 4652
23500.00 2158 3041 3490 3898 4288 4661
23550.00 2162 3046 3496 3905 4295 4669
23600.00 2165 3052 3502 3912 4303 4677
23650.00 2169 3057 3508 3919 4311 4686
23700.00 2173 3062 3515 3926 4318 4694
23750.00 2177 3068 3521 3933 4326 4702
23800.00 2181 3073 3527 3940 4334 4711
23850.00 2185 3079 3533 3947 4341 4719
23900.00 2188 3084 3540 3954 4349 4728
23950.00 2192 3089 3546 3961 4357 4736
24000.00 2196 3095 3552 3968 4364 4744
24050.00 2200 3100 3558 3975 4372 4753
24100.00 2204 3106 3565 3982 4380 4761
24150.00 2207 3111 3571 3989 4388 4769
24200.00 2211 3116 3577 3996 4395 4778
24250.00 2215 3122 3583 4003 4403 4786
24300.00 2219 3127 3590 4010 4411 4794
24350.00 2223 3133 3596 4017 4418 4803
24400.00 2226 3138 3602 4024 4426 4811
24450.00 2230 3143 3608 4031 4434 4819
24500.00 2234 3149 3615 4038 4441 4828
24550.00 2238 3154 3621 4045 4449 4836
24600.00 2242 3160 3627 4051 4457 4844
24650.00 2245 3165 3633 4058 4464 4853
24700.00 2249 3170 3640 4065 4472 4861
24750.00 2253 3176 3646 4072 4480 4869
24800.00 2257 3181 3652 4079 4487 4878
24850.00 2261 3187 3658 4086 4495 4886
24900.00 2265 3192 3665 4093 4503 4894
24950.00 2268 3197 3671 4100 4510 4903
25000.00 2272 3203 3677 4107 4518 4911
25050.00 2276 3208 3683 4114 4526 4919
25100.00 2280 3214 3690 4121 4533 4928
25150.00 2284 3219 3696 4128 4541 4936
25200.00 2287 3224 3702 4135 4549 4945
25250.00 2291 3230 3708 4142 4556 4953
25300.00 2295 3235 3715 4149 4564 4961
25350.00 2299 3241 3721 4156 4572 4970
25400.00 2303 3246 3727 4163 4580 4978
25450.00 2306 3251 3733 4170 4587 4986
25500.00 2310 3257 3740 4177 4595 4995
25550.00 2314 3262 3746 4184 4603 5003
25600.00 2318 3268 3752 4191 4610 5011
25650.00 2322 3273 3758 4198 4618 5020
25700.00 2325 3278 3765 4205 4626 5028
25750.00 2329 3284 3771 4212 4633 5036
25800.00 2333 3289 3777 4219 4641 5045
25850.00 2337 3295 3783 4226 4649 5053
25900.00 2341 3300 3790 4233 4656 5061
25950.00 2345 3305 3796 4240 4664 5070
26000.00 2348 3311 3802 4247 4672 5078
26050.00 2352 3316 3808 4254 4679 5086
26100.00 2356 3322 3815 4261 4687 5095
26150.00 2360 3327 3821 4268 4695 5103
26200.00 2364 3332 3827 4275 4702 5111
26250.00 2367 3338 3833 4282 4710 5120
26300.00 2371 3343 3840 4289 4718 5128
26350.00 2375 3349 3846 4296 4725 5137
26400.00 2379 3354 3852 4303 4733 5145
26450.00 2383 3359 3858 4310 4741 5153
26500.00 2386 3365 3865 4317 4748 5162
26550.00 2390 3370 3871 4324 4756 5170
26600.00 2394 3376 3877 4331 4764 5178
26650.00 2398 3381 3883 4338 4771 5187
26700.00 2402 3386 3890 4345 4779 5195
26750.00 2405 3392 3896 4352 4787 5203
26800.00 2409 3397 3902 4359 4795 5212
26850.00 2413 3403 3908 4366 4802 5220
26900.00 2417 3408 3915 4373 4810 5228
26950.00 2421 3413 3921 4380 4818 5237
27000.00 2425 3419 3927 4387 4825 5245
27050.00 2428 3424 3933 4394 4833 5253
27100.00 2432 3430 3940 4401 4841 5262
27150.00 2436 3435 3946 4408 4848 5270
27200.00 2440 3440 3952 4414 4856 5278
27250.00 2444 3446 3958 4421 4864 5287
27300.00 2447 3451 3965 4428 4871 5295
27350.00 2451 3457 3971 4435 4879 5303
27400.00 2455 3462 3977 4442 4887 5312
27450.00 2459 3467 3983 4449 4894 5320
27500.00 2463 3473 3990 4456 4902 5328
27550.00 2466 3478 3996 4463 4910 5337
27600.00 2470 3484 4002 4470 4917 5345
27650.00 2474 3489 4008 4477 4925 5354
27700.00 2478 3494 4015 4484 4933 5362
27750.00 2482 3500 4021 4491 4940 5370
27800.00 2485 3505 4027 4498 4948 5379
27850.00 2489 3511 4033 4505 4956 5387
27900.00 2493 3516 4040 4512 4963 5395
27950.00 2497 3521 4046 4519 4971 5404
28000.00 2501 3527 4052 4526 4979 5412
28050.00 2505 3532 4058 4533 4986 5420
28100.00 2508 3538 4065 4540 4994 5429
28150.00 2512 3543 4071 4547 5002 5437
28200.00 2516 3548 4077 4554 5010 5445
28250.00 2520 3554 4083 4561 5017 5454
28300.00 2524 3559 4090 4568 5025 5462
28350.00 2527 3565 4096 4575 5033 5470
28400.00 2531 3570 4102 4582 5040 5479
28450.00 2535 3575 4108 4589 5048 5487
28500.00 2539 3581 4115 4596 5056 5495
28550.00 2543 3586 4121 4603 5063 5504
28600.00 2546 3592 4127 4610 5071 5512
28650.00 2550 3597 4133 4617 5079 5520
28700.00 2554 3602 4140 4624 5086 5529
28750.00 2558 3608 4146 4631 5094 5537
28800.00 2562 3613 4152 4638 5102 5546
28850.00 2565 3619 4158 4645 5109 5554
28900.00 2569 3624 4165 4652 5117 5562
28950.00 2573 3629 4171 4659 5125 5571
29000.00 2577 3635 4177 4666 5132 5579
29050.00 2581 3640 4183 4673 5140 5587
29100.00 2584 3646 4190 4680 5148 5596
29150.00 2588 3651 4196 4687 5155 5604
29200.00 2592 3656 4202 4694 5163 5612
29250.00 2596 3662 4208 4701 5171 5621
29300.00 2600 3667 4215 4708 5178 5629
29350.00 2604 3673 4221 4715 5186 5637
29400.00 2607 3678 4227 4722 5194 5646
29450.00 2611 3683 4233 4729 5202 5654
29500.00 2615 3689 4240 4736 5209 5662
29550.00 2619 3694 4246 4743 5217 5671
29600.00 2623 3700 4252 4750 5225 5679
29650.00 2626 3705 4258 4757 5232 5687
29700.00 2630 3710 4265 4764 5240 5696
29750.00 2634 3716 4271 4771 5248 5704
29800.00 2638 3721 4277 4778 5255 5712
29850.00 2642 3727 4283 4784 5263 5721
29900.00 2645 3732 4289 4791 5270 5729
29950.00 2649 3737 4296 4798 5278 5737
30000.00 2653 3742 4302 4805 5285 5745

 

*This schedule is current through the 2016 First Extraordinary Session.  Changes and corrections from the Louisiana State Law Institute are in process.

 

It is important to remember that these numbers are merely estimates.  Obviously, income is not always conveniently rounded to the dollar.  Since each situation is unique, the child support amount may differ from those portrayed in this schedule.  It is helpful to think of this schedule as a base number to begin calculating your child support obligation from.  In order to determine the exact child support amount, the court uses different child support worksheets that are more tailored for each specific arrangement.  Each party will need to provide the court with a verified income statement showing gross income and adjusted gross income.  In addition, the court will need to see documentation of current and past earnings.  All other relevant information regarding the income with which household expenses are paid will need to be provided to the court as well.  All necessary documents will need to be filed with the court within a reasonable time prior to trial.  Additionally, the other party will need to be provided with a copy of all documentation for review as well.

The court will review the documentation and verify the percentage of each party’s contribution to the total combined adjusted monthly gross income amount.  The court will then determine the basic child support obligation.  As demonstrated by the schedule above, Louisiana has a minimum child support obligation.  Child support will not be ordered in any amount less than one hundred dollars.

Once the court has determined the basic child support obligation, additional costs may be included.  Such additions may include:

  • Child care costs
  • Health insurance premiums
  • Extraordinary medical expenses
  • Other extraordinary expenses

After considering these additional sources of costs, the court will ultimately issue a final child support order.

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