Child Support for Minor Children in ​Oregon Divorce Mediation: Mediator Matthew House, J.D.

What is child support for minor children in Oregon? Oregon law provides that children of divorced parents can receive child support until age 21 if they are attending school, or age 18 if they are not attending school. In Oregon, a minor for purposes of child support is a child who is 17 or younger, or who is 18 and attending high school and living with a parent.

Why it Matters: If at least one child of your marriage or relationship is younger than 18 at the time of the divorce or is 18 and still in high school and living with a parent, the Oregon Child Support Guideline Calculator worksheet must be completed and included in your divorce paperwork.

Common Mistakes or Oversights:

• Even if you have tentatively agreed that you will handle the child(ren)'s expenses informally and do not wish to exchange child support, you must still complete the child support worksheet.
• The child support calculation provided by the worksheet is not absolute. It is a presumptive amount using the state's formula, but it is only a guideline. It can be modified by agreement or by a judge if the parties do not agree.
• Many people have difficulty using the Oregon Child Support Guidelines Calculator website correctly. Matthew can do it for you.

How Matthew Can Assist You in Mediation: .

• Matthew will help you avoid the above-listed mistakes and oversights, and he will compute the guideline child support amount for you.
• He will suggest additional categories of non-essential but still important expenses that you may wish to agree to share between yourselves on behalf of the child(ren) for things that are not meant to be covered by regular child support.

What to Prepare:

• Each party's gross income from all sources
• Each party's union dues, if any
• The childcare costs, if any, paid by each party
• The health insurance premiums paid by each party for his or her individual health insurance
• The health insurance premiums for the child(ren), which are usually paid by one party
• A retired or disabled parent's Social Security or veterans' benefits paid to a child or on a child's behalf

Note: If you agree that spousal support will be paid by one party to the other party, the amount of the spousal support payments will factor into the calculation of child support, so Matthew cannot perform an accurate calculation of child support until it has been decided whether or not there will be spousal support in the case.