January 26, 2026

Significant Changes Made to Georgia’s Child Support Laws Effective January 1, 2026….

Georgia Senate Bill 454 substantially revised our child support statute (O.C.G.A. 19-6-15) as of January 1, 2026.  Before the statute was amended the Court had discretion to take into consideration the amount of parenting time that each parent has when establishing a new or modified child support obligation.  The law now requires parenting time to be considered which results in a child support adjustment.

In 2007 our child support statute was turned upside down.  Georgia law was revised so that the income of both parents was taken into consideration.   Previously the income of only the noncustodial parent was considered.   The “noncustodial parent” is the parent that has the lesser amount of parenting time.   The 2007 revision also required that the cost of health insurance for the children and the cost of work-related childcare be taken into consideration in setting the child support amount.  Child support calculations also started being done through a program established by economists that are supposedly much smarter than I am.

Let’s do a hypothetical scenario and I will attempt to simplify the terminology as we go through it.  I will leave out a lot of the details.  That’s hard for me.  I’ll do my best.

So, let’s assume there are two children.  Let’s assume that the Mother will have the children more than the Father thus making her the “custodial parent” for child support purposes.  Let’s assume that Mother has an annual gross income of $50,000 and that the Father has an annual gross income of $75,000.  Their total gross income is therefore $125,000.  In this hypothetical the Mother has 40% of the total income and the Father has 60% of the total income.

The first thing that must be determined is the “basic child support obligation”.  This is a formula that is established by the state legislature (and those economists).  Lawyers have nothing to do with this.  The judge has nothing to do with this.  It’s just the law.   Based upon the incomes in our hypothetical and the fact that the Mother has the children more, the Father will owe the Mother child support in the amount of $1179 per month.  High?  Low?  It is what it is.

The next thing is the “adjustments” that are reuqired to be made to the basic amount.   Let’s assume that the Mother spends $3000 per year on childcare.  This will cause the Father’s child support obligation to increase to $1379 per month.  This is because he is responsible for 60% of the childcare cost based on his share of the total income.   Let’s assume, however, that the Father pays $350 per month for the children’s health insurance premiums.  This will reduce his child support obligation from $1379 to $1239 per month because the Mother is responsible for 40% of the health insurance cost paid by the Father.

Now comes the revision that took effect on January 1, 2026.  How much parenting time does the Father have?  This is now very important for child support purposes.  A “standard visitation schedule” amounts to about 92 nights per year for the noncustodial parent and about 273 nights per year for the custodial parent.  So, let’s assume that the Father in our hypothetical has 92 nights per year.  Prior to January 1, 2026, there would be no adjustment in child support, but under the revised law the Father’s child support now drops by $122 per month to $1117 per month.

What if the dad has additional time during the summer and during school breaks bringing his annual parenting nights up to 125 nights per year?  Well, his child support obligation will decrease by $322 per month dropping his obligation down to $917 per month.

What if the Father has the children for 160 nights per year and the Mother has the children for 205 nights per year? The Father’s child support then decreases by $688 per month dropping his final obligation down to $726 per month.

So, in a nutshell this is the primary change in the child support statute as of January 1, 2026.  There are other changes such as allowing VA Disability benefits paid on behalf of a child to be credited toward the noncustodial parent’s child support obligation, but the primary amendment is the requirement that the Court consider parenting time.

There are numerous other factors that are still considered in the calculations.  A pre-existing child support obligation paid by the noncustodial parent is taken into consideration.  A “qualified child” living in a parent’s home that is not a child for which child support is being calculated is also taken into consideration provided that the child meets certain criteria.  Finally, the Court still has the authority to “deviate” from the final child support amount provided that the Court has a statutory basis for the deviation.

A complicated statute has just became more complicated.  Under the amended statute child support can’t be determined until after the noncustodial parent’s visitation is determined.  In the past I have been able to address pertaining to parenting time and I’ve been able to separately address issues pertaining to child support.  The two are now inextricably intertwined.

In summary, if you are having child support established OR if you are seeking to have child support modified…. hire a good lawyer.  Thousands of dollars are at stake.  Be smart.  Choose wisely.  We don’t represent the Father…. we don’t represent the Mother…. we represent the client.

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