Child Support Legal Glossary: Definitions from A to Z
An authoritative A-Z legal dictionary defining key statutory terms and financial terminology used in family court child support proceedings.
Arrears
Past-due, unpaid child support payments owed by an obligor under an existing court or administrative order.
Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO)
The core guideline amount determined from state economic tables based on parental income, before healthcare, childcare, or parenting adjustments.
Bradley Amendment
Federal law (42 U.S.C. ยง 666(a)(9)) prohibiting state courts from retroactively forgiving or reducing vested child support arrears.
Imputed Income
Income assigned by a family court judge to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, based on earning potential and work history.
Income Shares Model
The predominant child support guideline method in the U.S., combining both parents' incomes to apportion child support pro rata.
Income Withholding Order (IWO)
A court or administrative order served on an obligor's employer mandating automatic payroll deduction of child support.
Melson Formula
A hybrid child support calculation model used in Delaware, Hawaii, and Montana that protects a parent self-support reserve before allocating support.
Noncustodial Parent (Obligor)
The parent who does not have primary physical custody and is ordered to make monthly child support payments.
Obligee
The custodial parent, guardian, or state agency entitled to receive child support payments on behalf of the child.
Parenting Time Credit
A statutory reduction in the basic child support obligation granted to a paying parent who exercises substantial annual overnights with the child.
Percentage of Obligor Income
A child support formula model (used in Texas, Alaska, Wisconsin, and Nevada) based solely on the obligor's income without combining parental earnings.
Self-Support Reserve (SSR)
A statutory income threshold protecting low-income obligors to ensure they retain sufficient funds for personal subsistence.
Shared Physical Custody
A custody arrangement where both parents exercise substantial physical residential time (typically 30% to 50% of annual overnights).
Title IV-D
The federal statute (Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act) establishing the joint federal-state child support enforcement program.
UIFSA
Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, establishing jurisdictional rules when parents reside in different U.S. states.