The level of child support in Colorado is based on a formula which uses the Income Shares Model as prescribed by the state legislature known as the Child Support Guidelines.
Several factors are taken into consideration such as gross income, number of children, cost of day care, cost of family group health insurance, and others that are considered to be basic spending on children. The amount derived from the computation will be divided proportionally based on the individual income of each parent.
The court decides on the amount of child support by comparing the standard of living if the parents have stayed married against the post-separation. Other relevant factors include financial status of the child, the non-custodial and the custodial parents, and the physical, emotional and educational needs of the child.
The child support is mandatory until the child reaches the age of 19 or on the month following his high school graduation, whichever comes later. There are some cases, when minors are attending college, wherein the court can order the end of child support but demand parents to give a contribution to finance the post-secondary education of the child.
When the child involved in the pending case is suffering from a mental illness or physical disability, the child support, medical expenses and health insurance may be ordered by the court regardless if the child is more than 19 years old.
