PRINTER'S NO. 385
No. 355 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY McCLATCHY, PITTS, HAGARTY, FLICK, AFFLERBACH,
ARTY, WASS, KASUNIC, E. Z. TAYLOR, NAHILL, BATTISTO, PERZEL,
BURNS, SAURMAN, GEIST, STAIRS, MICOZZIE, SCHEETZ,
L. E. SMITH, CIMINI, PHILLIPS, GREENWOOD, BIRMELIN, MERRY,
OLASZ, JOHNSON, CLYMER, HONAMAN, NOYE, HERMAN, SIRIANNI,
VROON, TRELLO, LANGTRY, D. W. SNYDER, LASHINGER, WOZNIAK,
DeLUCA, GRUPPO, COLAFELLA, PETRONE AND LETTERMAN,
FEBRUARY 13, 1985
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 13, 1985
AN ACT
1 Providing for child support and for minimum mandatory support;
2 allowing for financial hardship; and providing for shared
3 custody.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Child Support
8 Law.
9 Section 2. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "AFDC." Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
14 "Department." The Department of Public Welfare of the
15 Commonwealth.
1 "Shared physical custody." An arrangement in which the
2 parents share physical custody so that both have custody of the
3 child or children more than 30% of a 365-day period.
4 Section 3. Determination of support amount.
5 (a) Income of parents.--In determining the ability of
6 parents to pay the mandatory minimum child support award and to
7 calculate the actual monthly payments to be made by each parent,
8 the annual gross income of each parent shall be determined and
9 then adjusted to obtain the annual net disposable income. To
10 determine and apportion the mandatory minimum child support
11 award, the court shall also consider, to the extent consistent
12 with the best interests of the child or children, the earning
13 capacity of either or both parents.
14 (b) Income.--Income includes compensation for services,
15 including fees, commissions and similar items, income derived
16 from business, gains derived from dealings in property,
17 interest, rents, royalties, dividends, annuities, income from
18 life insurance and endowment contracts, pensions, income from
19 discharge of indebtedness, distributive share of partnership
20 gross income, income in respect of a decedent, income from an
21 interest in an estate or trust, temporary and permanent
22 disability benefits, workmen's compensation and unemployment
23 compensation.
24 (c) Earning capacity.--To determine and apportion the
25 mandatory minimum child support award at the AFDC level, the
26 court shall also consider, to the extent consistent with the
27 best interests of all of the children, the earning capacity of
28 either or both parents.
29 (d) Exclusion of welfare benefits.--Annual gross income
30 shall not include any income derived from child support payments
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1 actually received and income derived from any public assistance
2 program, eligibility for which is based on a determination of
3 need.
4 (e) Computation of net disposable income.--The annual net
5 disposable income of each parent shall be computed by deducting
6 from his or her annual gross income the actual amounts
7 attributable only to the following items, after which the
8 remainder shall be adjusted to reflect the monthly net
9 disposable income of each parent:
10 (1) The state and Federal income taxes attributed to the
11 parent. Federal and state income tax deductions shall bear an
12 accurate relationship to the tax status of the parties (that
13 is, single, married, married filing separately, or head of
14 household) and number of dependents.
15 (2) Deductions attributed to the employee's contribution
16 or the self-employed worker's contribution pursuant to the
17 Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) (68A Stat.1, 26
18 U.S.C. § 3101 et seq.), or an amount not to exceed that
19 allowed under FICA for persons not subject to FICA, provided
20 that the deducted amount is used to secure retirement or
21 disability benefits for the parent.
22 (3) Deductions for mandatory union dues and retirement
23 benefits, provided that they are required as a condition of
24 employment.
25 (4) Deductions for health insurance premiums.
26 (5) Any child or spousal support actually being paid by
27 the parent pursuant to a court order, to or for the benefit
28 of any person who is not a subject of the award to be
29 established by the court.
30 (f) Discovery.--For the purposes of verifying total gross
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1 income and amounts allowed for deductions, copies of the
2 parents' state income tax returns for the previous two years,
3 copies of present wage stubs and any other relevant documents
4 shall be subject to discovery by the parties. Further, the court
5 may require copies of the parents' tax returns for the previous
6 two years, copies of present wage stubs and such other
7 documentation as it may deem necessary, including a current
8 income and expense declaration in the form prescribed by the
9 rules of court.
10 (g) Exclusion of separate property.--For the purpose of
11 determining the parent's annual gross income, in calculating the
12 mandatory minimum child support award, the court shall not
13 include any portion of the earned income and income derived from
14 the separate property of the current spouse or the nonmarital
15 partner of either parent. This requirement does not apply to a
16 child support obligation arising from the marriage between the
17 obligated parents.
18 (h) Total number of children.--The court shall inquire of
19 each party as to the total number of minor children he or she is
20 legally obligated to support.
21 Section 4. Minimum mandatory support.
22 (a) Determination of amount.--The standard established by
23 the department pursuant to the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31,
24 No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, establishes a minimum
25 family support level based on the number of eligible needy
26 persons in the family, and each parent's ability to pay a
27 minimum mandatory amount of child support shall be determined in
28 accord with the standards under the Public Welfare Code, as
29 follows:
30 (1) The combined monthly net disposable income of both
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1 parents shall be multiplied by the following percentage
2 factors: 18% for one child; 27% for two children; 36% for
3 three children; 40% for four children; and an additional 4%
4 for each child thereafter, up to a total of ten children.
5 (2) If the resulting amount is less than the AFDC
6 standard for the number of children involved, the court shall
7 find that the parents are unable to pay at the level of the
8 children's portion of the AFDC standard and shall set a
9 minimum award according to the combined monthly net
10 disposable income and the percentages set forth above.
11 (3) If the resulting amount is at, or greater than, the
12 AFDC standard for the same number of children, the court
13 shall order a minimum award that equals the AFDC standard.
14 (b) AFDC standard.--The AFDC standard for the number of
15 children to be supported shall be the minimum basic standard of
16 adequate care specified in the regulations of the department for
17 the number of children to be supported.
18 (c) Contribution of each parent.--The amount each parent
19 shall contribute to the mandatory minimum award shall be
20 determined by multiplying the minimum award by the proportionate
21 share of each parent's contribution to their combined net
22 disposable income. If more than ten minor children are to be
23 supported, the minimum award shall be the same as for ten
24 children.
25 (d) Construction of section.--Nothing in this section shall
26 be construed to affect the duty or ability of any public agency,
27 pursuant to any other provision of law, to secure or bring suit
28 for reimbursement of AFDC public assistance paid to a family
29 unit, eligible therefor under the applicable provisions of law,
30 in an amount not to exceed the total amount of aid actually
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1 paid.
2 Section 5. Additional expenses.
3 The mandatory minimum child support award established under
4 this act is intended to assure adequate basic living expenses,
5 including food, shelter, clothing, and reasonable and necessary
6 medical expenses, for the supported children. The court shall
7 not assume that any other costs related to the rearing of
8 children are provided within the mandatory minimum award. The
9 amount of the support determined to be the mandatory minimum
10 shall not preclude the court from making higher support awards
11 where the parents are capable of making such payments. In
12 setting a higher level of child support, the court shall be
13 guided by the criteria set forth in applicable statutes,
14 relevant case law, and State and local child support guidelines
15 not in conflict with the mandatory minimum award established by
16 this act.
17 Section 6. Financial hardship.
18 (a) Deductions.--In the event that a parent is experiencing
19 extreme financial hardship due to justifiable expenses resulting
20 from the circumstances enumerated in this section, upon the
21 request of a party, the court may allow such income deductions
22 as may be necessary to accommodate those circumstances, in
23 addition to the deductions specified in section 3(f).
24 (b) Hardship circumstances.--Circumstances evidencing
25 hardship include the following:
26 (1) Extraordinary health expenses for which the parent
27 is financially responsible.
28 (2) Uninsured catastrophic loss.
29 (3) The minimum basic living expenses of either parent's
30 minor dependent children from other marriages or
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1 relationships.
2 The court, upon its own motion or upon the request of a party,
3 may allow such income deductions as are necessary to accommodate
4 these expenses.
5 (c) Reasons for deduction stated on record.--If deductions
6 for hardship expenses are allowed, the court shall state on the
7 record the reasons supporting the deductions, cite the
8 documentation of the underlying facts and circumstances, and
9 specify the amount of deductions allowed. Whenever possible, the
10 court shall specify the duration that any deduction shall be in
11 effect.
12 (d) Minimum needs.--The court shall not order a child
13 support award that would reduce a parent's net income to an
14 amount less than that established for the needs of one person by
15 the regulation of the department.
16 Section 7. Health insurance.
17 Health insurance coverage for the supported children shall be
18 maintained by either or both parents if that insurance is
19 available at no cost or at nominal cost to the parent or
20 parents. This provision shall apply in all cases, irrespective
21 of the amount of the award. Any parent so responsible shall
22 certify such coverage to the court.
23 Section 8. Shared custody arrangements.
24 Except when a child or children are receiving an AFDC grant,
25 upon request, the court may take into consideration expenses
26 incurred and savings resulting from shared physical custody
27 arrangements in determining the pro rata share of the mandatory
28 minimum child support award to be allocated to each parent.
29 Section 9. Application of act.
30 This act shall apply to all actions for child support filed
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1 on and after the effective date hereof.
2 Section 10. Effective date.
3 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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