What You Need to Gather for the Child Support Worksheet

Kansas Child Support Worksheet & Interview Guide

MANDATORY PREPARATION NOTICE

All Kansas Judges use the Kansas Child Support guidelines to figure support. It is the duty of the parties to bring a worksheet prepared following those rules to Court at the time of the final divorce hearing.

This interactive interview is designed to generate a child support worksheet based on the Kansas guidelines. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions about the process.

Interview Scope and Readiness:

→ This tool is for cases where the joint income of both parents is less than $50,000.
→ You will need to have all facts ready if you want to complete the interview without pause.

A link to the interview is provided at the very bottom of this page.

What Will I Need to Complete the Worksheet?

1. The Income of Both Parents

→ You should know your own income (hourly or monthly).
- → Be ready to deliver a pay stub to support the amount you put in this interview.
→ You can estimate the income of the other parent if you don’t have specific data.

2. The Costs of Health Insurance

→ Cost can be provided by either parent.
→ If other adults or children are included, you must define the part of the cost for *these* children.
- → This may require finding the cost without these children and subtracting it from the total paid. Keep records of this totaling.

3. The Costs of Work Related Child Care

→ You need actual or estimated costs paid by each parent, including summer costs.
→ You may need to figure the cost for an entire year, then divide by 12 to get a monthly mean.
→ You should keep copies of the papers upon which you base your cost.

4. Custody Plan: Computing Parenting Time %

You will be asked the amount of time that each parent spends with the child. You may need to calculate the percent of time the child/ren are with each parent. The guidelines allow an adjustment if time is more than 35% (more than 39 hours a week).

Method for Calculating Time:

→ Start with 168 hours during each week (school/daycare hours are excluded from the total).
→ Track the number of hours the child/ren are with each parent outside of school/daycare.
→ Calculation: Parent's Hours / Total Hours (168 - School/Daycare Hours) = Percent of Time.

If you want some estimates of the ratios:
If the non-residential parent has less than 39 hours a week, it is less than 35%.
About 45 hours a week is 40% (e.g., Friday night to Sunday night, each week).
About 50 hours a week is about 45% of the time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What About Shared Custody or Other Options?

Even with equal shared time, the guidelines may still set support to be paid by one parent. If parents have a written agreement for meeting direct expenses (clothing, school fees, etc.), the support can be adjusted to cover housing, food, and account for an earnings gap.

If No Written Shared Custody Plan Exists:

→ The interview will ask if time is equal and if a written plan exists.
→ If no written plan, one parent will be designated in charge of all direct expenses.
→ The interview will then decide the amount of child support due to that parent on an Equal Parenting Time worksheet.

What if we Don’t Agree About Child Support?

Each party should prepare their own worksheet based on the factors they believe should be included. The Judge can then review both worksheets and make the final decision.

Can I Prepare More than One Worksheet from One Interview?

Due to the background programming, some choices don’t fully reset. If you want to do a different interview with totally different theories (e.g., about custody plans), please start a **new interview** and re-enter your data.

⚠ Limitations: Who Can’t Use this Program Successfully?

If the joined income of the parents is more than $50,000, this program will not work.
When parents have had other children since the first support order, they may be eligible for a multiple family adjustment. This program does not automatically calculate those adjustments.
When the parent paying child support lives in another state, they may qualify for an Interstate Pay Differential Adjustment. This program does not calculate that adjustment.
For parents who are not swapping which parent claims the dependent deduction on Federal Income Tax returns, there is a variation on child support. This program doesn’t calculate that adjustment.

Alternative Options for Calculation:

Parents with any of the conditions above are urged to consider:

→ Prepare their own worksheet: Use www.childsupporttools.com (currently $19.95 for single family).
→ Review the guidelines: At https://kscourts.gov/About-the-Courts/Programs/Child-Support-Guidelines and prepare a worksheet manually.
→ Seek limited scope representation: Find an attorney who will provide only the services you select, allowing you to complete other tasks yourself.
You may find an attorney through the Kansas Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-928-3111.