Legal Authority:
43 O.S. §118E(C) Parenting Time Adjustments
43 O.S. §118E(D) Parenting Time Adjustments
OAC 340:25-1-1.2 Structure and service
Case law:
“We conclude the Parenting Time Adjustment statute found in 43 O.S.2011 § 118E, when not prohibited by the number of overnights, allows a custodial parent to be an obligor for child support purposes, for instance, when the custodial parent has a larger gross monthly income than the noncustodial parent. See generally Amy E. Wilson, The New Child Support Guidelines: What You Need to Know About Changes to the Guidelines Statute, 80 Okla. B.J. 2359 (Nov. 21, 2009).” (emphasis added)
State v. Coldwater, 364 P.3d 672 (Okla. Civ. App. 2015)
Other Sources:
“The PTA (Parenting Time Adjustment) is presumptive, not mandatory. The presumption may be rebutted if the adjustment is not in the best interest of the child or if the increased parenting time does not result in greater expenditures.” Amy E. Wilson, The New Child Support Guidelines: What You Need to Know About Changes to the Guidelines Statute, 80 Okla. B.J. 2359 (Nov. 21, 2009).
Per the statute, if a parent has over 159 overnights and below 206, it makes the higher earner the obligor.
Process:
If there is shared parenting where the overnights are between 159 and 206, then CSS staff will need to run guidelines for each parent as obligor. Unless you know for sure that ncp still is the higher income earner in the modification process and there would be no result/situation where the cp lower income earner would pay child support under these shared overnights of 159 to 206.
If it appears the obligor will change, then the Motion to Modify should be filed without a requested amount of child support.
For the final order of modification:
CSS Offices should:
Attach both guidelines (one with former obligor at $0.00 child support obligation and one with former cp/new obligor showing the new child support obligation). The Order should also show that there is a new obligor and the former obligor’s obligation is $0.00.
In the Other paragraph in the Order Modifying Child Support (R12) (paragraph 19) you would insert the following language:
Former obligor, insert name, is ordered to pay $0.00 child support beginning _______________. Current obligor, insert name, is ordered to pay $x.xx child support beginning the same date.
OR
If the parties want to agree to a deviation where the new obligee does not want the new obligor to pay child support and wants to deviate the support to zero, the State’s Attorney will need to determine if the deviation is appropriate and in the best interest of the child(ren). This scenario may require a hearing before the Court for this determination.
CSS will require an application from the new obligee to collect support through CSS on the new obligation of higher earner obligor.