CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES

CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES

07/94 Revised 09/01/25 Training Completed 09/15/25 Last Reviewed 10/01/25

A noncustodial parent (NCP) who is exercising extended parent-time is entitled to a reduction in current child support if sufficient written documentation is provided to the Office of Recovery Services (ORS) in accordance with Utah Code 81-6-211(4), regardless of whether any wording about parent-time or the reduction is specified in the order or written agreement.

Statutory Authority

Utah Code 81-6-211 states:

“(1) The base child support award is:

(a) reduced by 50% for each child for time periods during which the child is with the noncustodial parent by order of the court or by written agreement of the parties for at least 25 of any 30 consecutive days of extended parent-time; or

(b) reduced by 25% for each child for time periods during which the child is with the noncustodial parent by order of the court or by written agreement of the parties for at least 12 of any 30 consecutive days of extended parent-time.

(2) If the child is a client of cash assistance provided under Title 35A, Chapter 3, Part 3, Family Employment Program, the administrative agency shall approve any agreement by the parties for reduction of child support during extended parent-time.

(3) For purposes of this section, normal parent-time and holiday visits to the custodial parent are not considered extended parent-time.

(4) For cases receiving child support services in accordance Title 26B, Chapter 9, Recovery Services and Administration of Child Support, the noncustodial parent shall provide written documentation to the office of the extended parent-time schedule to receive the adjustment under Subsection (1), including the beginning and ending dates, in the form of a court order or a voluntary written agreement between the parties.

(5) If the noncustodial parent complies with Subsection (4), owes no past-due support, and pays the full, unadjusted amount of current child support due for the month of scheduled extended parent-time and the following month, the office shall refund the difference from the child support due to the custodial parent or the state, between the full amount of current child support received during the month of extended parent-time and the adjusted amount of current child support due:

(a) from current child support received in the month following the month of scheduled extended parent-time; or

(b) from current child support received in the month following the month written documentation of the scheduled extended parent-time is provided to the office, whichever occurs later.

(6) If the noncustodial parent complies with Subsection (4), owes past-due support, and pays the full, unadjusted amount of current child support due for the month of scheduled extended parent-time, the office shall apply the difference, from the child support due to the custodial parent or the state, between the full amount of current child support received during the month of extended parent-time and the adjusted amount of current child support due, to the past-due support obligation in the case.

(7) For cases not receiving child support services in accordance with Title 26B, Chapter 9, Recovery Services and Administration of Child Support, the court or the parents shall resolve, without involvement by the office, any potential adjustment of the child support payment during the month of extended visitation or any refund that is due to the noncustodial parent from the custodial parent.

(8) For purposes of this section the per child amount to which the abatement applies is calculated by dividing the base child support award by the number of children included in the award.

(9) The reduction in this section does not apply to parents with joint physical custody obligations calculated in accordance with Section 81-6-206.”

If the controlling order is not a Utah order, you must follow the laws of the issuing state per UIFSA choice of law. Utah Code 81-8-604 states:

“(1) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (4), the law of the issuing state or foreign country governs:

(a) the nature, extent, amount, and duration of current payments under a registered support order;

(b) the computation and payment of arrearages and accrual of interest on the arrearages under the support order; and

For additional information, refer to CS 155P Choice of Law for more information.

Forms Overview

1. Extended Parent-Time Agreement. This pre-print form helps parents provide the information needed by CSS to calculate the extended parent-time reduction to child support when the order has not specified the 30-day period for extended parent-time and the beginning and ending dates within this period, or there is no order for extended parent-time.

This form also provides signature lines for the parents to sign if they agree that the extended parent-time took place or will take place as stated on the form. Both parents must sign the form in order for it to be a valid written agreement of the parties.

This form is not required in order to calculate the reduction provided you receive all of the mandatory information in another format (for example, the parents prepare and sign their own written agreement that includes all of the required information listed below).

Procedures for the Extended Parent-time Reduction

If a parent who is requesting a reduction for extended parent-time contacts you, take the steps listed below.

1. Review extended parent-time authorization: Determine if extended parent-time is authorized by:

a. A court-ordered extended parent-time provision that includes specific information about which 30-day period(s) extended parent-time is to occur, and the beginning and ending dates within this period (e.g., “the father is granted extended parent-time during July of each year starting July 2^nd for 25 days”); or

NOTE: If the court order is not specific about the time period for extended parent-time, it will need to be supplemented with a written agreement (see below) in order to provide you with the necessary information to calculate the support reduction.

b. A written agreement signed by both parties, such as the Extended Parent-Time Agreement form. At a minimum, the written agreement must provide:

i. Confirmation that extended parent-time has occurred or will occur;

ii. The beginning and ending dates of the 30-day time period (e.g. “July,” “between June 15^th and July 15^th,” or “starting July 2^nd for 25 days”); and,

iii. The number of “days” spent with the NCP. A day must also include a night spent with the NCP.

EXAMPLE 1: A Utah divorce decree signed September 2008 contains a provision that the “noncustodial parent (the father) shall be allowed extended parent-time with the parties’ son for 25 of 30 consecutive days during August of each year.” The father notifies you that he is exercising extended parent-time for 25 days in August of this year. No further confirmation is needed to authorize the reduction.

EXAMPLE 2: A Utah divorce decree signed September 2008 contains a provision that the “noncustodial parent (the father) shall be allowed extended parent-time with the parties’ son for 25 of 30 consecutive days during August of each year.” The father notifies you that he is exercising extended parent-time for 25 days in June this year. Because the actual parent-time exercised differs from the month specified in the court order, give the father the Extended Parent-Time Agreement form and inform him that both parties need to sign the form to confirm that the extended parent-time occurred, or will occur. The Extended Parent-Time Agreement form, or a similar written agreement with all of the required information, will need to be returned in order for you to authorize the reduction.

EXAMPLE 3: A Utah administrative order contains no provision for parent-time. The NCP (the father) contacts you to ask if he can receive a reduction in support for extended parent-time. You provide him with the Extended Parent-Time Agreement form which he returns signed by both parents. The form confirms that the parent-time has occurred or will occur from June 15^th to July 10th, and tells you the number of days the child was with the father. No further confirmation is needed to authorize the reduction.

NOTE: The reduction to child support applies to both IV-A and Non IV-A cases. Financial assistance will continue when a child temporarily lives with the NCP during a period of extended parent-time unless the visit is expected to exceed 180 days.

2. Establish the uninterrupted 30-consecutive-day period and number of extended parent-time days: If extended parent-time is not exercised during the exact timeframes specified by a court order, you will need to review the written agreement to establish the 30-consecutive-day period and to determine the "days" the child spends with each parent. Count only the combination of a day (or partial day) and a night as a "day.” Unless an overnight stay is included, do not count hours spent with either parent as a "day" with that parent. A detailed analysis and documentation of the “days” on a calendar, such as the analysis included in the following examples, is not necessary if the extended parent-time is exercised during the specific time period authorized by a court order.

EXAMPLE 1: There is a Utah divorce decree signed July 2008 which is silent about extended parent-time. The father provides a written agreement that documents parent-time per the following calendar, which indicates where the child actually spent each day and night: with the NCP or with the custodial parent (CP).

JULY

NCP

25 NCP’S

PARENTS

NCP

The 30-day time period (July 1- July 30) shown in this example qualifies as 30 consecutive “days” (i.e. days and nights) for the purpose of determining if the NCP may be eligible for an extended parent-time reduction in support under Utah Code 81-6-211. The five days and nights that the child spent with her mother at various times during the 30-day period are not an interruption of the extended parent-time.

The child in this example spent 24 nights in the home of her father and one night at the home of her paternal grandparents. The day and night the child spent with her paternal grandparents is not treated differently than a day spent with her father, so it is not an interruption of the count of consecutive days. The father has exercised extended parent-time of “at least 25 of 30 consecutive days” and is eligible for the extended parent-time reduction at the 50% rate.

EXAMPLE 2: The Utah divorce decree signed May 15, 2003 states that “the noncustodial parent (the father) is entitled to a period of extended parent-time consisting of 12 out of 30 consecutive days twice per year,” but the order does not specify in which months the extended parent-time will occur. The NCP provides a written agreement signed by both parents which specifies that during June, the child, a son, spent his days and nights as indicated in the calendar below.

JUNE

NCP

In this example, the time period from June 1 to June 30 qualifies as 30 consecutive days. During these 30 days, the child spent 17 days and nights with his mother, the custodial parent. The child spent 13 days and nights with his father, the NCP. The NCP has met the requirement of at “least 12 of any 30 consecutive days” and qualifies for the extended parent-time reduction of support at the 25% rate. The 13^th day and night that the child spent with the father does not result in any additional reduction. Only two types of reductions are authorized in the statute: a 25% reduction if the 12-day threshold is met; and a 50% reduction if the 25-day threshold is met. No pro-rated approach is authorized for day counts that may occur between these two thresholds.

EXAMPLE 3: The divorce decree signed June 1, 2001 states, “The father is entitled to extended parent-time of 25 out of 30 consecutive days during December of each year.” The father notifies you that he has exercised extended parent-time for 12 days in December as indicated in the following calendar.

JUNE

NCP

In this example, the child was with the NCP 12 days and with the CP 18 days. The statute does not require that the 12 days are consecutive, only that those 12 days occur during a specified 30-consecutive-day period. The occurrence of, the beginning and ending dates of, and the number of days of extended parent-time have been established. The NCP is entitled to a reduction in child support because extended parent-time took place within the time period specified by the court order (December). A written agreement is not necessary to supplement the order because, even though the 12 days exercised is different from the 25 days authorized by the order, the resulting reduction is equal to or less than the reduction authorized by the order. Since the NCP had the child for only 12 days instead of 25, give the 25% reduction rate.

NOTE: The 30-day time period does not need to begin and end during the same month, as in the examples above. The 30-day time period could begin in one month and end in the following month, e.g., from May 17^ththrough June 15^th. However, if the 30-day time period is different from that specified in the order, a written agreement would be required to calculate the reduction.

3. Calculate the amount of reduction for extended parent-time: Take the steps listed below to calculate the child support reduction for each child’s extended parent-time. If all the children complete the same number of parent-time days, skip steps “a” and “b.”

a. Divide the ordered child support amount by the number of children covered to obtain a per child amount.

NOTE: Use the full child support amount listed in the order, not the amount charged on ORSIS that may already be reduced for other credits (i.e. medical insurance credit). Extended parent-time is a reduction to the base child support amount, and applying other credits first will affect the resulting figure.

b. Multiply the per child amount by the number of children affected by the extended parent-time agreement.

c. Multiply the child support amount (or the results of step “b” if applicable) by the appropriate reduction rate to obtain the extended parent-time reduction amount as follows:

i. .25 for at least 12 out of 30 consecutive days; or,

ii. .50 for at least 25 out of 30 consecutive days.

NOTE: Step “c” may need to be completed multiple times if all of the children do not follow the same extended parent-time plan.

d. Subtract the reduction amount from the original ordered amount to determine the amount of child support owed by the NCP during the extended parent-time.

EXAMPLE: A divorce decree signed in June 2003 orders $300.00 per month in current support. Custody of three children, two sons and one daughter, is given to the mother. The father is granted extended parent-time by court order to occur during July of each year. The order does not specify whether the extended parent-time is to last 12 days or 25 days, so the order is understood to authorize either length of time. During July, the two sons stay with the father for 25 days, but the daughter only stays with the father for 12 days. Based on information provided to you by the father (no written agreement necessary), calculate the extended parent-time support obligation as follows:

· Divide the $300.00 (ongoing support amount) by 3 (the number of children covered) = $100.00.

· Multiply $100.00 by 2 (number of children staying 25 of 30 days) = $200.00, and multiply $100.00 by 1 (number of children staying 12 of 30 days) = $100.00.

· Multiply $200.00 by .50 (reduction rate for 25 of 30 days) = $100.00, and multiply $100.00 by .25 (reduction rate for 12 of 30 days) = $25.00.

· Subtract $125.00 (total reduction) from $300.00 (ongoing support amount) = $175.00 (amount still owed by father for July).

4. Create a future SELF alert.

5. Give the parent-time reduction in support:

a. Arrears owed: Per Utah Code 81-6-211:

“(6) If the noncustodial parent complies with Subsection (4), owes past-due support, and pays the full, unadjusted amount of current child support due for the month of scheduled extended parent-time, the office shall apply the difference, from the child support due to the custodial parent or the state, between the full amount of current child support received during the month of extended parent-time and the adjusted amount of current child support due, to the past-due support obligation in the case.”

If the NCP has a past-due support obligation equal to or exceeding the amount of the extended parent-time reduction, adjust ORSIS for the actual month that the extended parent-time took place using retro calculation.

b. No arrears owed: Per Utah Code 81-6-211:

“(5) If the noncustodial parent complies with Subsection (4), owes no past-due support, and pays the full, unadjusted amount of current child support due for the month of scheduled extended parent-time and the following month, the office shall refund the difference from the child support due to the custodial parent or the state, between the full amount of current child support received during the month of extended parent-time and the adjusted amount of current child support due:

(a) from current child support received in the month following the month of scheduled extended parent-time; or

(b) from current child support received in the month following the month written documentation of the scheduled extended parent-time is provided to the office, whichever occurs later.” (Emphasis added.)

To avoid excessive Notice to Withhold paperwork, attempt to process refunds and credits to past-due support without modifying the notice to withhold.

6. Follow-up.

Extended Parent-time vs. Support Follows the Child

If the physical custody of the child(ren) changes, support follows the child procedures may apply to the case. Refer to CS 104P Opening a Support Follows the Child Case, Overview, CS 818P Support Follows the Child – Post Order, Legal Custody Determined, and CS 819P Support Follows the Child – Post Order, Legal Custody Has Not Been Determined for additional information.

Do not use the Confirmation of Custody Change Letter and Form (form E90A) to confirm the change in living arrangements for extended parent-time. This letter is only appropriate in support follows the child situations.

Extended Parent-time Reduction on Sole Custody Orders, Split Physical Custody

If the support order is based on a sole custody worksheet and the parents later agree to split physical custody of the children between them, support follows the child procedures will not apply. If extended parent-time is authorized by a court order or written agreement, such as the Extended Parent-Time Agreement form, that provides all of the information required by CSS to calculate the extended parent-time reduction, calculate the amount of the reduction based on the number of children living with the noncustodial parent.

EXAMPLE: The support order grants custody of five children to the mother. A few years later the parents agree that the three oldest children will go to live with the father during the summer months, and the two youngest children will remain with the mother. The parents both sign an Extended Parent-Time Agreement form agreeing to the extended parent-time and providing you with the beginning and ending dates of this arrangement. The base award for the five children is $1000.00. Calculate the allowable deduction for extended parent-time by taking the steps listed below.

a. Divide $1000.00 by 5 (number of children included in the award) = $200.00.

b. Multiply $200.00 by 3 (the number of children with the living with the father) = $600.00.

c. Multiply $600.00 by .50 (the 50% reduction for extended parent-time) = $300.00.

d. Subtract $300.00 (the allowable support reduction) from $1000.00 = $700.00 (father’s support obligation during the extended parent-time period).