22.500 Modification of Child Support

22.500 Modification of Child Support The following charge was deleted and has been replaced by 23.000 et al. for use in conjunction with the new child support guidelines, effective January 1, 2007. Please see cautionary note (at 22.000) for further information. Parents must support their minor children (use only when such may be an issue) (whether the children are legitimate or illegitimate). A prior judgment for support may be changed upon a showing of a change in the income or the financial status of either parent (or in the needs of the children). If you find that there has been such a substantial change in the income and financial status of the non custodial parent (or in the needs of the minor children) to justify a downward or upward change in the support payable by that parent, then you may make such change under the law that I give you. (While O.C.G.A. §19-6-19 appears to allow the Court to consider the "needs of the children" as a grounds for revising child support judgments rendered after 7/1/77, this does not appear to be correct. The "needs of the children" language was added in 1986 (Section 1, 1986 Georgia Laws, p. 606), effective 7/1 of that year. Summerlin v. Summerlin, 247 Ga. 5 (1981) requires that the law in effect at the time of the final judgment controls. Thus, judgments rendered prior to 7/1/77 may be modified only upon a showing of a substantial change in the income or financial status of the husband. Judgments entered between 7/1/77 and 6/30/86 also are subject to modification only upon a substantial change in the income or financial status of the payor, and the Court should not base such judgments upon "the needs of the children." Judgments rendered on or after 7/1/86 may be modified by a showing of a significant change in "the needs of the children" as well as the income or financial status of the paying parent.) Georgia law provides guidelines for use in fixing the amount of periodic child support to be paid. These guidelines base the amount of child support upon gross income. You should first determine the gross income both of the mother and of the father and make a written finding of the income of each party on the verdict form. Gross income is defined as 100 percent of that person's income, that is, all wage and salary income, all other compensation for personal services, interest, dividends, net rental income, self-employment income, and all other forms of income. (Use only if applicable.) (It does not, however, include need-based public assistance.) O.C.G.A. §19-6-15(b)(2) (The jury is not to consider need-based public assistance in its estimation of gross income, and this additional instruction may be necessary if the jury receives evidence of this source of income.) (Charge the following only if applicable.) (In deciding a party's gross income, you may include the earning potential of his or her assets. You can find out what the earning potential of each asset is by multiplying the asset's equity by a reasonable rate of interest. Then add that amount to the amount you have otherwise determined to be that party's gross income.) O.C.G.A. §19-6-15(b)(3) (Charge the following only if applicable.) (In calculating a party's income, you should include expenses that the party is entitled to deduct for tax purposes because he or she is self-employed, if the party is personally benefited by them. You may also include economic in-kind benefits such as an automobile, meals, and insurance and the like that a party receives from his or her employer.) O.C.G.A. §19-6-15(b)(5) Once you have determined the gross income of each of the parties, the next step is to determine the amount of child support that _______________________________ should pay based upon his or her gross income. Georgia law provides guidelines you can use to determine the party's child support obligation. The guidelines tell you to multiply the gross income of the paying parent by a certain percentage to arrive at the child support obligation. The guideline provides a percentage range that is determined by the number of children being supported. You can choose a percentage within that range. O.C.G.A. §19-6-15(b)(5) (Choose correct range.) If child support is being paid for one child, multiply the gross income by a percentage within a range of 17 to 23 percent. If child support is being paid for two children, multiply the gross income by a percentage within a range of 23 to 28 percent. If child support is being paid for three children, multiply the gross income by a percentage within a range of 25 to 32 percent. If child support is being paid for four children, multiply the gross income by a percentage within a range of 29 to 35 percent. If child support is being paid for five or more children, multiply the gross income by a percentage within a range of 31 to 37 percent. O.C.G.A. §19-6-15(b)(5) I caution you that although this guideline creates a rebuttable presumption for determining child support, it is still only a guideline. You, as members of the jury, have the final responsibility to decide child support based on the evidence that has been presented to you. You may decide on a child support obligation either above or below the ranges I have just given you if you make a written finding that there are special circumstances that justify changing the guideline amount. Those special circumstances may be any factor that you think justice requires. Some examples of factors that may be special circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Ages of the children. 2. A child's extraordinary medical costs or needs in addition to accident and sickness insurance, provided that all such costs or needs shall be considered if no insurance is available. 3. Educational costs. 4. Day-care costs. 5. Shared physical custody arrangements, including extended visitation. 6. A party's other support obligations to another household. 7. Income that should be imputed to a party because of suppression of income. 8. In-kind income for the self-employed, such as reimbursed meals or a company car. 9. Other support a party is providing or will be providing, such as payment of a mortgage. 10. A party's own extraordinary needs, such as medical expenses. 11. Extreme economic circumstances including but not limited to (A) unusually high debt structure or (B) unusually high income of either party or both parties, which shall be construed as individual gross income of over $75,000 per annum. 12. Historical