Wyoming Child Support

Calculate and Collect Your Child Support

Get the right child support for your state now. Child Support is an important part of your monthly budget. Shouldn't you be sure the amount is correct? Calculate what your support should be OR calculate the arrears owed to you.

Click Here to Calculate Your Child Support Now

Wyoming child support is based upon official guidelines for the calculation of child support. These guidelines are presumed to be correct unless it is shown that the amount would be unjust or inappropriate. The Court may deviate away from the guidelines after examining several factors. The Court may consider the age, special health care or educational needs of the child; any other necessary expenses for the child's benefit, including child care expenses; the value of services contributed by either parent; any pregnancy expenses; any visitation transportation costs; the ability of parents to provide health insurance through employment benefits; the amount of time the child spends with each parent; the relative net income and financial condition of each parent; whether a parent has violated any terms of the divorce decree; whether either parent in voluntarily unemployed or underemployed; along with any other factors the Court deems relevant to the circumstances of the case.

In calculating Wyoming child support under the guidelines, the Court will base its calculations of the parties’ respective incomes. "Income" for the purposes of calculating Wyoming child support is “any form of payment or return in money or in kind to an individual, regardless of source”. The Wyoming child support statute defines “income” to include, but not be limited to: wages, earnings, salary, commission, compensation as an independent contractor, temporary total disability, permanent partial disability and permanent total disability worker's compensation payments, unemployment compensation, disability, annuity and retirement benefits, and any other payments made by any payor.” Income for Wyoming child support does not include overtime earnings unless the Court, after considering all overtime earnings derived in the preceding twenty-four (24) month period, determines the overtime earnings can reasonably be expected to continue on a consistent basis.

In Wyoming child support cases, Courts will routinely ask the parties to agree that the presumptive child support amount under the Wyoming child support guidelines is appropriate. If the parties fail to reach such an agreement, and the Court fails to deviate from the support guidelines after trial, the Court may order the parent seeking to deviate from the presumptive child support amount to pay reasonable attorney fees and court costs to the other party.
After calculating the presumptively correct amount of Wyoming child support, the Court may deviate from the amount of support arrived at under the guidelines. However, to do so, the Court must make a specific finding that the application of the presumptive child support would be unjust or inappropriate in that particular case. In any case where the court has deviated from the presumptive child support, the reasons must be set forth fully in the Court order.
In determining whether to deviate from the presumptive child support established by the Wyoming child support guidelines, the court will consider the following factors: The age of the child; The cost of necessary child day care; Any special health care and educational needs of the child; The responsibility of either parent for the support of other children, whether court ordered or otherwise; The value of services contributed by either parent; Any expenses reasonably related to the mother's pregnancy and confinement for that child, if the parents were never married or if the parents were divorced prior to the birth of the child; The cost of transportation of the child to and from visitation; The ability of either or both parents to furnish health, dental and vision insurance through employment benefits; The amount of time the child spends with each parent; Any other necessary expenses for the benefit of the child and whether either parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.

If the Court determines that a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the Court will calculate Wyoming child support based upon the potential earning capacity of the unemployed or underemployed parent. In making that determination the court will consider that parent’s prior employment experience and history, educational level and whether additional education would make the parent more self -sufficient or significantly increase the parent's income, the presence of children of the marriage in the parent's home and its impact on the earnings of that parent; availability of employment for which the parent is qualified; prevailing wage rates in the local area; special skills or training; and whether the parent is realistically able to earn imputed income.

Most Wyoming child support orders direct child support payments to be made through the clerks of the district courts. Unless your order says you should pay the custodial parent directly, you must pay your child support to the clerk of the district court each month in order for you to receive credit. If you have been paying the custodial parent directly and your order specifies you pay the clerk of the district court, you need to consult your clerk of the district court and/or child support caseworker immediately because the Wyoming child support office may not have a record of your direct payments. If you have not saved the canceled checks or cannot get the custodial parent to verify payment for you, you may not get credit for having paid your child support.

The State of Wyoming has a special Department (the “Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Family Services”) that can provide assistance establishing an Order of paternity and/or a child support order and, if you already have a child support order, can need help in collecting child support. The Department has offices located in 17 towns and cities in the state’s nine judicial districts. You do not have to be the child’’s parent to qualify for child support services. Wyoming child support services are available to anyone who is living with and caring for a child who needs financial help supporting him or her. If you may be the father you can request establishment of paternity. You also do not have to be divorced to be eligible for child support services. You may be single, separated from your child’s other parent, or married to someone else.

Wyoming child support orders are subject to adjustment and modification. Either parent may petition for a review and adjustment of any child support order that was entered more than six (6) months prior to the petition or which has not been adjusted within six (6) months from the date of filing of the petition for review and adjustment. The petition shall allege that, in applying the presumptive child support established by this article, the support amount will change by twenty percent (20%) or more per month from the amount of the existing order. After the petition has been filed, the Court will apply the Wyoming child support guidelines. If, upon applying the presumptive child support to the circumstances of the parents or child at the time of the review, the court finds that the support amount would change by twenty percent (20%) or more per month from the amount of the existing order, the court will consider there to be a change of circumstances sufficient to justify the modification of the support order.

Wyoming child support terminates at age 18 or if the child is still enrolled in secondary school, at age 20. No statute or case law holds a parent responsible for college support.