Right-sizing orders (RSO) means establishing and modifying child support orders and setting judgment payments to reflect current circumstances and actual income, unless the evidence supports imputing income. This encourages non-custodial parents (NCP) to comply with child support orders and results in consistent and reliable support collections for the child(ren) involved.
Per OAC 340:25-5-124.4 ITS 2: an NCP is more likely to comply with an order that is no more than 20% of his/her gross income. When right-sizing an order, it is important to use accurate income information. The goal is to use actual income and only impute when it is supported by evidence. You can review the Compliance Predictor Tool as a guide.
When setting an establishment case always review for any additional cases the NCP may have. Also consider:
- The NCP’s income;
- Ability to pay all child support orders in full each month;
- Whether they are actually paying on all of their cases;
- The statutory monthly child support amount resulting from establishing or modifying the orders.
Always be aware of any intergovernmental cases as well. If Oklahoma has continuing exclusive jurisdiction (CEJ) or if parties agree to Oklahoma’s jurisdiction, proceed as normal. If parties will not agree to Oklahoma’s jurisdiction, only include the case to address the judgment payment plan.
In order to determine if a multiple case action (MCA) is appropriate, complete a single child support computation for each of the NCP’s cases, as well as a combined computation for a MCA. Compare the two and select the option with the most realistic child support order amount.
If there are cases in different offices, see the state’s attorney to determine if all parties would agree to transfer the cases to one office to address the MCA.
When reviewing the other open cases, check to see if Right Sizing has already been completed on the NCP’s prior cases. If the NCP has same/similar employment as when the MCA was completed and is paying by income assignment, use the base child support amount from the previous MCA and allocate the pro rata child share amount to the new child’s base child support amount. Run individual guidelines for the new case for childcare or health insurance expenses that are added to the new child’s base child support amount. It is not necessary to re-modify NCP’s completed multiple case orders.
The guidelines included in the pleadings and orders should not be the MCA guidelines. Include the individual case guidelines with deviation language included. Consult the state’s attorney for such language.