How child support is calculated in Colorado (in plain words)
Both incomes, overnights, health insurance, childcare — and the worksheet nobody shows you.
Colorado child support is a formula, and the formula is public. Here is what goes into it, in plain words.
Both incomes
Gross monthly income for each parent — wages, self-employment, bonuses, and in some cases what a court decides you could earn. Maintenance paid or received adjusts it.
The number of overnights
The schedule matters. Below 93 overnights a year for one parent, one worksheet applies; above it, a shared-parenting worksheet reduces the amount as overnights increase. This is why parenting time and support get negotiated together.
Health insurance and childcare
The cost of the children's health insurance and work-related childcare is added in and split in proportion to income.
The worksheet
All of it goes into the state's worksheet, which produces a monthly figure. Judges can deviate from it, but they rarely do without a specific reason.
What surprises people: that it's a formula at all, and that the overnights count changes the result more than anything except income. Bring both parents' pay stubs to the first meeting and we'll run it while you're here.