How is child support calculated when a parent is self-employed?

In Massachusetts, when a parent is self-employed for calculating child support, there is an additional step to the process. The court will need to determine the parent’s average income over the last three years. To do this, the court will look at the parent’s financial records to determine his or her gross income. This includes things like wages, investments, royalties, and any other income that the parent receives. From there, the court will be able to subtract any applicable business expenses from the total gross income to get the net income. Once the court has calculated the parent’s three-year average net income, it will then use this number to determine the amount of child support that needs to be paid. The court will use the same guidelines that it uses for calculating child support when a parent is not self-employed. The court will use the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines, which take into account the amount of time that the parent spends with the child, the child’s needs, and the child’s age. When a parent is self-employed, the court may also consider additional factors in calculating child support, such as the parent’s potential for earning more money or if the parent has additional business expenses that would affect the net income calculation. In Massachusetts, it is important for both parents to understand the child support calculation process when one parent is self-employed. This is because there are additional steps that the court needs to take to accurately calculate the parent’s average income over time. It is also important for the parties to work together to properly document the parent’s income, expenses, and other factors that could impact the court’s decision.

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How is child support calculated when a parent is self-employed?

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