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I. INTRODUCTION
A. Committee Commentary. This commentary to Civil Rule 90.3 was prepared by the Child Support Guidelines Committee. The commentary has not been adopted or approved by the Supreme Court, but is published by the court for informational purposes and to assist users of Rule 90.3.
B. Purpose. The primary purpose of Rule 90.3 is to ensure that child support orders are adequate to meet the needs of children, subject to the ability of parents to pay. The level of support under the rule is comparable to the national average, but it is significantly above what had been a usual support award in Alaska. The increase was necessary to avoid the impoverishment of custodial parents and to minimize the public's burden of supporting children through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. However, the primary focus of the increase in support awards was to promote the welfare of the children who benefit from the support.
The second purpose of 90.3 is to promote consistent child support awards among families with similar circumstances. Third, the rule is intended to simplify and make more predictable the process of determining child support, both for the courts and the parties. Predictable and consistent child support awards will encourage the parties to settle disputes amicably and, if resolution by the court is required, will make this process simpler and less expensive.
The final purpose of 90.3 is to ensure that Alaska courts comply with state and federal law. AS 25.24.160(2) requires that child support be set in an amount which is "just and proper...." The Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984 (P.L. 98-378) and its implementing regulations (45 CFR 302.56) require states to adopt statewide guidelines for establishing child support. The Family Support Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-485) requires that the guidelines presumptively apply to all child support awards and that the guidelines be reviewed every four years.
C. Scope of Application. Rule 90.3 applies to all proceedings involving child support, whether temporary or permanent, contested or non-contested, including without limitation actions involving separation, divorce, dissolution, support modification, domestic violence, paternity, Child in Need of Aid and Delinquency. The support guidelines in the rule may be varied only as provided by paragraph (c) of the rule. Rule 90.3 applies to support of children aged 18 authorized by Chapter 117, SLA 1992, but otherwise does not apply to set support which may be required for adult children.
II. PERCENTAGE OF INCOME APPROACH
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Copyright 1995-1999 by Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No copyright claim is made to the text of the rules.
Last Modified 7/14/1999
