Under certain conditions dependent children – also referred to as qualified child(ren) – may be credited to the obligor when calculating a child support obligation. The conditions are
- be the biological, legal, or adopted child(ren) of the parent
- be born prior to or after the child in the case under consideration
- the parent is actually supporting the child(ren)
- the child is not before the court to set, modify, or enforce support in the case under consideration
To obtain a deduction for qualified child(ren), the parent must show the existence of a support order and provide documented proof of having consistently paid support for the other child(ren) over a 12 month period of time prior to the beginnings of the current child support hearing. Documented proof includes
- physical evidence of monetary payments to the obligee (e.g., cancelled checks, money orders)
- evidence of child support payments under another child support order (e.g., history from a child support office or DHS internet child support payment history)
Use the monthly average of annual gross income to calculate the available deduction for qualified child(ren).
For further details see O.S. 43 OK Stat § 43-118C (2014)