Hi everyone, I’m Dr. Michael Mantell with another Family Law Matters. I’m joining Bonnie Rabinovitch-Mantel who is the owner and managing partner of the Primus Family Law Group. Hi Bonnie.

Hi Michael, how are you doing today? Doing well, thank you, thank you very much. We have some, an important topic I think that people sort of scratch their heads about oftentimes when a divorce involves children. And that is the difference between spousal support and child support.

I think people get these confused. So first, what’s the real difference between spousal support and child support? Well, child support is the easier one. It is there to allow your children to be supported in both homes.

So when you make more money than your spouse, the court will create a child support order that kind of equalizes those incomes. And it takes into account certain things like if you pay health insurance for the child, if you contribute to your 401k, it will use all the numbers in our statewide guideline child support calculator. We have a statewide system because we prioritize taking care of our children so that, you know, by parents instead of by the state.

So the child support is really to take care of shelter, food, basic necessities of your children. Not necessarily, you know, gymnastics and summer camps and all those other things, the basic necessities in both homes. Now, spousal support, the difference, spousal support is to, in the beginning of a divorce, it is to maintain the status quo.

So two people live together, they created a marital standard of living, they were able to do vacations, they were able to have, you know, cars, they were able to go out to eat. The court will use the guideline number to maintain the standard of living in the interim. And then when you get further along the way and we deal with permanent support for the spouse, well, the spouse is required to do something for him or herself, and there are different factors that are considered.

But spousal support is to take care of the maintenance of your spouse. And child support is your fiduciary duty also to take care of your children. Who pays spousal support and who pays child support? The person who makes more money pays.

Okay, and does that change over time? What triggers a change in that? There can be changed circumstances. You can, you know, fortunately or unfortunately, the child support calculator is also based on how much time you spend with your children because it is figured that if you spend a significant amount of time, you’re also gonna have expenses, food, clothing, shelter, and your own home. So over time, if your time share changes, if let’s say you have less time or let’s say you have more time with your children, that could be a significant change that requires a modification.

Or if your significant other or you are making more or less money, those two things kind of go together and they can cause significant changes that require a modification. I think people who are watching know very clearly that focus, clarity, ingenuity, and insightfulness are what makes you and Primus Family Law such a welcome friend during a time of divorce. If people have questions or they wanna get some more information, how can they be in touch with you? You can reach us directly at 619-574-8000 or you can reach us online at www.primusfamilylaw.com. There’s a live chat agent.

There’s a form you can fill out. Either way, you will get put on one of our calendars for a free 30-minute phone or Zoom consultation.