July 1 Guidelines FAQ Page

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Alft & Wilson Publishing strives to provide our users with the latest and most accurate information concerning child support in Iowa. We receive many calls for help. Often those calls are not related to technical issues but toward how to actually calculate child support. Sometimes our users believe the program is producing an inaccurate result. With the new Guidelines going into effect, child support issues are bound to crop up faster than weeds in the garden. We will update this page as questions come in. You can do your part by sending in your questions. We'll answer them as best we can.

ISSUE: One party has FREE health insurance coverage on the children.

Question: The CP has Hawk i health coverage for the children. It is free to her. Since neither pay for that coverage, if we enter nothing for health insurance costs for the children, the NCP gets stuck paying "cash medical support." How do I rectify this issue?

You advise NCP to go looking for a private health insurance policy for the children. Hawk i is not private health insurance, it is publicly funded which means that the State of Iowa (taxpayers) subsidize this program of insurance. Both parties must enter $0 as the cost of child's health insurance. NCP may then be ordered to contribute cash medical support. This money may then be assigned to the state.

ISSUE: Switching from regular custody to shared, the numbers don't seem right.

Question: I ran the calculations for a regular custodial arrangement. CP's share of support is $200. NCP's share is $400. When I checked the shared physical custody box, the support change was such that NCP would pay only $100. This doesn't seem right. In the first example, the difference was $200 now with shared it is only $100. How can that be?

We suggest you look at the Guidelines Form 1 as adopted in Rule 9.27 - Form 1. In IV(F) and (G) you will see that the method of calculation changes. The Guidelines are now taking into account that in a shared custody situation, the ordinarily NCP will have the children more than in a regular custodial arrangement, therefore his/her expenses of caring for the children are increased, thus, a reduction in the support.

ISSUE: Health insurance numbers are not showing up on Form 1.

Question: I ran the calculations for a regular custodial arrangement. Health insurance doesn't show up on the Form 1 even though NCP pays $1,100 per year for the children. CP's income is $14,000 per year. Why doesn't she have to pay?

CP is low-income. Under the new guidelines, her income falls in the shaded area, therefore she is ordered to pay $0. You may ask the court for a variance.

ISSUE: How do I indicated "Shared Custody".

Question: Where do I indicate that our situation is a "shared custody" case?

First, open the program. Click on "FIND" on the right side of the program screen. Drag the slider down to "Shared Custody" and double click on it. That will show that it is now under "Number of Children for Support."

ISSUE: NCP pays for health insurance and it does not appear on Form 1.

Question: I ran the calculations for a regular custodial arrangement, one child. NCP provides health insurance. When I printed the Form 1, the health insurance shows up as $0. Why?

NCP is low-income. Even though CP may be earning $100,000 per year, if NCP is low-income, the new guidelines require that $0 be entered on line E. See Rule 9.14(5)(c). Remember that the court can vary from the guidelines.

ISSUE: A party already pays for health insurance and it includes coverage on a child from a prior relationship.

Question: My client provides health insurance on the kids in the present marriage and that coverage also covers a child from a prior marriage. What do I indicate in cost of covering the children?

The whole banana - as far as what it costs to cover the children. Makes no difference if the parent has 5 kids covered, 1 present and 4 prior marriage - you put in the cost of covering the child. So if single coverage cost is $300 and family is $500, you will put in $200 as cost of covering the child. If the cost is increased to the parent because five kids are covered, the other party may wish to seek a variance in how much he/she may have to contribute toward the cost of the health insurance.



We will continue to update this information. These questions and many others will be addressed over the coming months/years and as usual, we will keep our users apprised of all changes. Thank you.