SIDNEY — Gary J. Carter, magistrate of the Shelby County Common Pleas Court, recently presented a program to local attorneys regarding new child support legislation, which became effective, March 28.

The presentation occurred at the March meeting of the Shelby County Bar Association at the Sidney Moose Lodge. Carter explained that under the new law, the child support tables will go up to $336,000 combined income of the parties, instead of $150,000. Minimum child support orders will increase from $50 per month to $80 per month. There will be a rebuttable presumption that the person receiving child support, the obligee, should provide the medical insurance coverage for the child. Cash medical support will no longer be tied to whether or not medical insurance is provided but instead will be included in every child support order. The annual amount will be $388.70 per child for each child of the order, and each parent will be responsible for a portion of this amount, based upon the percentage of the total adjusted annual gross income of the parties. Credits for annual child care expenditures will be capped at certain amounts according to the age of the child at the time the order is established. The caps are higher for younger children and lower for older children. Obligors will receive a 10 percent reduction from the statutory guidelines amount if they receive at least 90 overnights of visitation each year. Larger reductions may result if the obligor has more extended parenting time.

Carter stated that it has been about 25 years since the child support tables were modified, and these changes are actually overdue. Carter provided the local attorneys with hand-outs summarizing the changes, and he also suggested that local law firms update their computer software with the new child support tables.