(a) Minimum orders.– Except as otherwise provided in this Rule, a support obligation for one child shall not be less than 20% of the Primary Allowance for one child; and for 2 or more children, 20% of the Primary Allowance for two children. Minimum orders shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of ten (10).
(1) This limitation shall not apply where children reside in shared (at least 164 overnights in each household) or split (at least one child of the union with primary residence in each household) placement.(2) A disabled person with actual income of less than the Self Support Allowance may be assessed a lesser obligation upon consideration of the nature and extent of the disability, cash and other resources available, and the totality of the circumstances.(b) Except incident to subsection (a) of this Rule, no parent shall be placed under an obligation to pay more than a designated percentage of net available income as determined under Rule 502(a). The designated percentage shall be 45% unless the parent has children to support in three (3) or more households in which case the percentage shall be 30%.(c) Automatic Adjustment for Incarceration. —
(1) After 180 days of continuous incarceration but subject to the exceptions in Rule 501(k), every prospective current support obligation established or modified after January 31, 2019 will automatically decrease to one half of the minimum order amount recited in Rule 506(a) as of the date of the order.(2) A petition may be filed to determine the exact date of adjustment and whether any of the Rule 501(k) exceptions apply.(3) The obligation will not revert upon release from incarceration, but release shall constitute a substantial change of circumstances for modification pursuant to Rule 508.(4) Every written order for new or modified current support shall advise of this potential adjustment.(5) Incarcerated parents subject to current child support orders that issued prior to February 1, 2019 may petition for modification under the standards recited in subsection (1). However, if the obligation had already been calculated on the basis of continuous confinement under the prior standard, then relief may only be awarded two and one-half (2/12;) years after the last determination of current support.(6) The Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) may utilize the procedures outlined in Rule 302 to facilitate these adjustments.
Del. Fam. Ct. R. Civ. P. 506
Amended eff. January 1, 2011; amended January 28, 2015, eff. April 20, 2015; amended November 8, 2018, effective February 1, 2019.
