How Does Child Support Affect Alimony?

There are usually four aspects of money in most divorces: (1) assets and debts, (2) retirement, (3) child support, and (4) alimony.

Assets and debts are usually straightforward. Unless there’s a good reason not to, you split both assets and debts 50/50.

Like assets and debts, retirement is almost always a 50/50 split for the period of the marriage.

What makes assets and debts and retirement calculations so clean is they almost never affect each other. What I mean is you don’t get more retirement because you took on more debt. (You can if the other person agrees to that, but you can’t really force it.)

Child Support Almost Always Affects Alimony

Unlike assets and debts and retirement, child support and alimony calculations aren’t so clean.

Because of the way we calculate alimony, it’s almost always affected by the amount of child support you receive.

Quick alimony primer

Let’s begin with a quick explanation about how we calculate alimony.

First, we find the spouse who makes less money per month. We then see what that person makes after taxes are taken out (net income), and what his or her monthly expenses are (necessary monthly expenses).

When we have those numbers, we subtract the necessary monthly expenses from the net income and see if we have a positive number or a negative number. For example, if someone nets $3500 per month, and has $5000 in necessary monthly expenses per month, then the number is -$1500.

If you run in the negative, you have a need for alimony, and that negative number is usually what you request in alimony. So, the person above would ask for $1500 in alimony.

Second, we do the exact same calculation for spouse who makes more money per month.

So, say you make $7000 per month, and your necessary monthly expenses are $5000 per month. Your number is +$2000. This means you have an ability to pay $2000 per month toward alimony.

With that out of the way, let’s see how child support affects things.

How child support affects alimony for the person receiving child support

Child support affects alimony because it’s considered income; and, therefore, it increases the net monthly income of the person who receives it.

So, if we take person #1 from above and give her $700 per month in child support, then her net income would be $4200. Her necessary monthly expenditures would still be $5000, so her new number would be -$800.

She would request $800 per month in alimony — $700 less than before.

How child support affects alimony for the person paying child support

On the other side of the coin, child support paid increases a person’s necessary monthly expenses.

So, if we take person #2 above and make him pay $700 per month in child support, then his monthly expenses will go up from $5000 to $5700. This means his ability to pay alimony goes down to $1300 per month ($7000-$5700=$1300).

What does all this mean in the end?

In the end, child support usually affects alimony in two ways:

  1. For the person receiving alimony, it decreases the need for alimony (read: you usually receive less alimony as you receive more child support).
  1. For the person paying alimony, it decreases the ability to pay alimony (read: you usually pay less alimony as you pay more child support).
Protect Your Money And Your Family

We remove fear associated with divorce, protect your money & maximize time with your kids!

We're here to help. Let's determine your best options.

Call Us 24//7 at 801-685-9999 to Speak with a Live Representative

Utah Divorce FAQs
Top 100 Divorce Blog
What Clients Are Saying…
BrownLaw icon
Excellent
Brown Family Law
Based on 1013 reviews
Worked with Nick and Carren they did an awesome job with a difficult situation. The whole Brown law team was excellent to work with. I would highly recommend them to anyone that needs thier services. Thank you Nick and Carren also the rest of the team. On a side note everyone i delt with was very friendly! Thank you again!
Clay is the best
Clay was fantastic. I really appreciated his professionalism and knowledge. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone needing his services.
Helped me with everything, supported me in all my decisions! Communication is top notch! Never worked with a lawyer who was so easy to get a hold of! They are the best!
Daniel is a wizard. He’s incredibly knowledgeable and has a real gift for walking you through stressful situations with clarity and calm. He makes the process feel easy when it could otherwise be overwhelming. Highly recommend working with him!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Navigating a divorce is never easy, and I am so grateful to have had the support of attorney Nathaniel Garrabrandt and paralegal Carren Leavitt. From start to finish, they were responsive, professional, and compassionate. I really appreciated the weekly check-in Every phone call and email was answered promptly. There were moments when I needed immediate help with custody issues and protection—Nathaniel handled those situations with calm expertise and gave me the reassurance I needed during such a stressful and uncertain time.

Divorce can feel overwhelming, but having strong legal guidance made all the difference. Nathaniel and Carren provided not only the legal knowledge but also the steady support that helped me feel protected and confident moving forward. I couldn’t recommend Briwn Family Law more highly to anyone needing a reliable and caring legal team!
David Handy and his team were fantastic in helping me navigate custody time with my daughter. He gave the me reassurance and encouragement I needed with each step and I couldn't be more grateful to him! Thanks David! And to his team Candace & Brooklyn for being very helpful in keeping constant communication open. I enjoyed working with everyone!
I had a great experience. Amazing guidance and direction to best help me and my situation.
This has honestly been a first-class experience! I've gotten to work with many attorneys throughout my life and none have been as attentive as, Clay Randle has been.
Daniel and Carren were great to work with. They took time to help me understand the process and get through a difficult time. When I had questions they were quick to respond and really listened to my concerns.
yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7

Categories

Related Posts