Q: I have 3 children that I pay chid support for. The oldest will be emancipated as of may. how much less will I pay?

A: Thank you for your question. Child support in New Jersey is calculated pursuant to the NJ Child Support Guidelines. If your oldest will be emancipated in May, they will recalculate the child support pursuant to the guidelines based on your remaining two children. It is not necessarily a third, but it is possible that it calculates close to that amount. It is important that you consult with an attorney experienced in child support matters to make sure you are aware of all of your rights and options.

A: The 1st question is " how is your oldest child going to be emancipated"? The law in NJ says that a child is presumed emancipated upon graduation from high school unless the child is going on to college or trade school. If your child is going to continue with his education past high school graduation, he may not be emancipated. And if the child is going on to college and living at home with your former spouse, you may still be paying direct child support and sharing in the school costs.

2ndly, even if we presume that your child will be emancipated shortly, it does not mean that your child support obligation will decrease. It depends on what information was originally used to calculate the child support obligation. Lets presume that in the guidelines used 10 years ago, your total income was 75,000 and your former spouses income was 25,000 and now your total income is 100,000 and her total income is still 25,000. The guidelines would need to be run for the 2 remaining un-emancipated children at your current income settings and after inclusion of the cost of health insurance for the children ( and identification of its cost and who pays it) and your current overnight plan with the 2 children.... armed with that information, a lawyer can tell you what amount of child support you now owe for the remaining 2 children.