re: Child support payments

Here's my experience with Louisiana child support:

We use DCFS to audit the payment arrangement each year. We both have similar income levels.

Provide last year's tax filing, Last 5 months of pay stubs.

Indicate amount of time the child resides in your home

Indicate/prove the expenses you have covered over the previous year for items such as child daycare, health/visual/dental insurance, and school tuition.

Throw it all together and mix it with the LA state payment equation and you get the monthly payment. The check I cut to my ex is comparatively low due to our equal levels in income earnings and the fact I pay for healthcare coverage.



advice for newly divorced dads:

Try to get "Domiciliary Parent" title even if it means you give up more equity in marital property or other non-child related items. 50/50 custody still requires one parent be declared the primary custodian. This might not seem important when the child is younger than 4 but it is incredibly important for school ages

Try to live in the same school district as the ex. It makes school busing/commuting so much easier.