A news flash to pass on. It comes from an article we read this week in preparation for a trial.
In domestic matters, people don't know that Child Support Guidelines, most recently amended in June, 2018, are THAT controlling in setting support amounts between parties in paternity and divorce actions.
From Worcester east, the % of times the Courts will deviate from what the guideline formula says should be the amount provided is very (sometimes very, very) rare. If you're looking for less, or more, an extensive, documented variety of reasons is going to have to be established.
The brutal reality is this: The Courts are understaffed, over-worked, and the judges don't believe they have the time for the extensive research, paperwork, and attention that might be required if all the cases were asking for amounts different from what is gotten when the parties figures are literally plugged into a court-derived schematic that provides a figure. That's going to be the amount, barring specific serious circumstances requiring an up or down adjustment.
