Interstate Alimony Guidelines

Jim Untershine, GZS of LB, 01-25-03

1 Child - Alaska has the highest with $904/mo., Louisiana has the lowest with $370/mo.
2 Child - Alaska has the highest with $1,101/mo., Alabama has the lowest with $490/mo.
3 Child - Hawaii has the highest with $1,305/mo., Alabama has the lowest with $602/mo.

CS - Child Support Guideline.

1 Child - Massachusetts has the highest with $1,348/mo., North Carolina has the lowest with $456/mo.
2 Child - California has the highest with $1,760/mo., North Carolina has the lowest with $657/mo.
3 Child - California has the highest with $2,200/mo. , North Carolina has the lowest with $770/mo.

Alimony - Difference between TANF and CS (TANF - CS).

1 Child - Georgia has the highest with $776/mo., Hawaii has the lowest with $-220/mo.
2 Child - California has the highest with $947/mo., Hawaii has the lowest with $69/mo.
3 Child - California has the highest with $1,212/mo., North Carolina has the lowest with $96/mo.

2 Child - Alaska has the highest with $1,101/mo., Alabama has the lowest with $490/mo.

FASR - Indiana has the highest with $899/mo., Oklahoma has the lowest with $415/mo.
AllLaw - California has the highest with $1,760/mo., North Carolina has the lowest with $657/mo.

Alimony - Difference between TANF and CS (TANF - CS)

FASR - Indiana has the highest with $323 /mo., Alaska has the lowest with -$555/mo.
AllLaw - California has the highest with $947/mo., Hawaii has the lowest with $69/mo.

Alimony Error- Difference between AllLaw and FASR alimony (AllLaw - FASR).

California has the highest with $990/mo., North Carolina has the lowest with $57/mo.

State	1 Child						2 Child						3 Child
-	#	TANF	#	CS	#	Alimony	#	TANF	#	CS	#	Alimony	#	TANF	#	CS	#	Alimony
Alabama	50	370	40	616	20	246	51	490	33	954	17	464	51	602	34	1,194	18	592
Alaska	1	904	9	880	48	-24	1	1,101	15	1,188	47	87	2	1,285	17	1,452	48	167
Arizona	36	466	21	732	19	266	33	618	32	957	34	339	30	758	30	1,234	28	476
Arkansas	46	387	29	659	17	272	45	518	34	952	22	434	45	639	37	1,120	25	481
California	9	627	4	1,100	6	473	7	813	1	1,760	1	947	5	988	1	2,200	1	1,212
Colorado	33	471	31	643	30	172	30	625	28	996	28	371	29	768	28	1,249	26	481
Connecticut	6	633	17	796	32	163	6	820	16	1,176	30	356	6	984	18	1,421	32	437
Delaware	37	463	18	788	13	325	35	611	9	1,282	6	671	34	751	7	1,632	5	881
Dist of Columbia	28	482	3	1,172	3	690	26	640	2	1,520	4	880	26	790	3	1,781	4	991
Florida	38	442	15	810	9	368	37	587	12	1,256	7	669	36	721	8	1,573	6	852
Georgia	40	438	2	1,214	1	776	42	571	4	1,478	2	907	41	697	4	1,690	3	993
Hawaii	2	800	45	580	49	-220	2	1,061	18	1,130	49	69	1	1,305	6	1,640	39	335
Idaho	30	479	25	691	24	212	38	580	35	951	29	371	44	671	36	1,163	22	492
Illinois	34	468	10	880	8	412	27	639	20	1,100	18	461	31	756	19	1,408	13	652
Indiana	42	434	22	722	14	288	41	576	23	1,085	14	509	38	708	22	1,358	14	650
Iowa	19	526	11	880	11	354	22	673	10	1,276	8	603	23	812	14	1,496	11	684
Kansas	21	520	28	670	34	150	21	675	46	846	43	171	22	814	23	1,337	21	523
Kentucky	43	431	37	628	26	197	44	558	36	938	26	380	42	695	35	1,174	27	479
Louisiana	51	370	30	652	15	282	48	508	26	1,012	15	504	48	630	27	1,267	15	637
Maine	22	515	46	539	44	24	16	697	47	837	45	140	14	872	44	1,042	47	170
Maryland	24	503	33	637	39	134	25	667	29	986	36	319	21	818	29	1,234	34	416
Massachusetts	10	606	1	1,348	2	742	10	770	3	1,498	5	728	9	921	5	1,648	8	727
Michigan	13	554	20	750	27	196	13	717	17	1,158	21	441	13	881	16	1,461	20	580
Minnesota	7	629	5	1,100	7	471	8	789	6	1,320	12	531	8	934	9	1,540	16	606
Mississippi	48	376	41	616	22	240	50	494	43	880	23	386	50	602	48	968	38	366
Missouri	41	438	32	641	25	203	39	579	37	921	33	342	39	705	40	1,079	37	374
Montana	16	536	27	677	38	141	14	703	24	1,078	27	375	15	861	25	1,315	31	454
Nebraska	31	479	13	845	10	366	29	630	13	1,233	9	603	28	770	15	1,475	9	705
Nevada	32	476	48	500	45	24	32	618	27	1,000	25	382	33	751	13	1,500	7	749
New Hampshire	8	628	-	-	-	-	9	777	-	-	-	-	11	912	-	-	-	-
New Jersey	25	499	14	828	12	329	23	672	14	1,190	13	518	24	807	20	1,395	19	588
New Mexico	20	526	44	605	41	79	19	682	44	871	42	189	19	829	47	1,021	46	192
New York	5	677	7	898	23	221	4	867	7	1,320	19	453	3	1,043	10	1,531	23	488
North Carolina	39	439	49	456	46	17	43	565	49	657	46	92	43	674	49	770	49	96
North Dakota	17	528	16	797	18	269	17	695	11	1,259	11	564	17	850	12	1,504	12	654
Ohio	27	487	35	629	37	142	28	636	38	916	38	280	27	788	42	1,058	43	270
Oklahoma	44	431	42	615	29	184	40	579	41	884	37	305	37	718	45	1,036	40	318
Oregon	14	550	38	628	42	78	15	697	40	904	41	207	16	861	41	1,059	45	198
Pennsylvania	23	505	19	780	16	275	24	669	19	1,122	20	453	20	826	26	1,314	24	488
Rhode Island	11	588	24	703	40	115	11	763	22	1,093	35	330	12	910	21	1,366	30	456
South Carolina	47	387	36	629	21	242	46	518	39	904	24	386	46	637	43	1,058	33	421
South Dakota	15	540	23	705	31	165	20	676	25	1,019	32	343	25	800	33	1,200	35	400
Tennessee	49	373	6	924	4	551	49	504	5	1,408	3	904	49	624	2	1,804	2	1,180
Texas	45	396	12	880	5	484	47	515	21	1,100	10	585	47	634	24	1,320	10	686
Utah	18	527	47	504	47	-23	18	690	45	849	44	159	18	835	39	1,094	44	259
Vermont	4	697	-	-	-	-	3	870	-	-	-	-	4	1,020	-	-	-	-
Virginia	29	480	39	626	36	146	31	623	31	970	31	347	32	753	32	1,213	29	460
Washington	12	582	34	634	43	52	12	757	30	984	40	227	10	915	31	1,232	41	317
West Virginia	35	467	43	614	35	147	36	604	42	883	39	279	35	737	46	1,033	42	296
Wisconsin	3	745	8	898	33	153	5	846	8	1,320	16	474	7	937	11	1,531	17	594
Wyoming	26	498	26	688	28	190	34	613	48	698	48	85	40	704	38	1,095	36	391
Median	-	498	-	691	-	203	-	640	-	1,019	-	382	-	790	-	1,315	-	481
Average	-	517	-	751	-	240	-	670	-	1,084	-	421	-	810	-	1,332	-	529

Table Two : Interstate TANF, child support (FASR vs AllLaw), and alimony regarding 2 children \1 \2 \3

# = The national ranking of the state with regard to the parameter that follows
TANF = The monthly benefits paid to a family by the state
CS = The child support guideline demanded by the state regarding an NCP with $4,400/mo income.
Alimony = The difference between the child support guideline and the TANF benefits (CS - TANF)

State	FASR 2 Child Guidene						AllLaw 2 Child Guidene				Alimony
-	#	TANF	#	CS	#	Alimony	#	CS	#	Alimony	#	Error
Alabama	51	490	24	634	5	144	33	954	17	464	38	320
Alaska	1	1,101	43	546	49	-555	15	1,188	47	87	11	642
Arizona	33	618	25	628	18	10	32	957	34	339	36	329
Arkansas	45	518	48	475	26	-43	34	952	22	434	22	477
California	7	813	4	770	25	-43	1	1,760	1	947	1	990
Colorado	30	625	30	610	22	-15	28	996	28	371	27	386
Connecticut	6	820	7	703	41	-117	16	1,176	30	356	23	473
Delaware	35	611	26	626	17	15	9	1,282	6	671	10	656
Dist of Columbia	26	640	2	821	2	181	2	1,520	4	880	7	699
Florida	37	587	5	721	6	134	12	1,256	7	669	18	535
Georgia	42	571	11	673	7	102	4	1,478	2	907	2	805
Hawaii	2	1,061	29	610	48	-451	18	1,130	49	69	19	520
Idaho	38	580	41	566	21	-14	35	951	29	371	28	385
Illinois	27	639	47	485	42	-154	20	1,100	18	461	14	615
Indiana	41	576	1	899	1	323	23	1,085	14	509	47	186
Iowa	22	673	40	566	36	-107	10	1,276	8	603	5	710
Kansas	21	675	38	582	33	-93	46	846	43	171	44	264
Kentucky	44	558	23	637	8	79	36	938	26	380	42	301
Louisiana	48	508	12	667	4	159	26	1,012	15	504	30	345
Maine	16	697	27	619	31	-78	47	837	45	140	46	218
Maryland	25	667	18	655	20	-12	29	986	36	319	34	331
Massachusetts	10	770	3	789	15	19	3	1,498	5	728	6	709
Michigan	13	717	17	657	27	-60	17	1,158	21	441	20	501
Minnesota	8	789	33	606	45	-183	6	1,320	12	531	4	714
Mississippi	50	494	50	427	29	-67	43	880	23	386	25	453
Missouri	39	579	31	609	14	30	37	921	33	342	40	312
Montana	14	703	49	456	47	-247	24	1,078	27	375	12	622
Nebraska	29	630	9	677	10	47	13	1,233	9	603	17	556
Nevada	32	618	16	660	11	42	27	1,000	25	382	33	340
New Hampshire	9	777	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
New Jersey	23	672	6	710	12	38	14	1,190	13	518	21	480
New Mexico	19	682	35	588	34	-94	44	871	42	189	43	283
New York	4	867	8	699	44	-168	7	1,320	19	453	13	621
North Carolina	43	565	34	600	13	35	49	657	46	92	49	57
North Dakota	17	695	37	582	38	-113	11	1,259	11	564	8	677
Ohio	28	636	32	609	24	-27	38	916	38	280	41	307
Oklahoma	40	579	51	415	43	-164	41	884	37	305	24	469
Oregon	15	697	36	587	37	-110	40	904	41	207	39	317
Pennsylvania	24	669	42	554	39	-115	19	1,122	20	453	16	568
Rhode Island	11	763	10	677	32	-86	22	1,093	35	330	26	416
South Carolina	46	518	39	574	9	56	39	904	24	386	35	330
South Dakota	20	676	19	652	23	-24	25	1,019	32	343	29	367
Tennessee	49	504	14	665	3	161	5	1,408	3	904	3	743
Texas	47	515	46	517	19	2	21	1,100	10	585	15	583
Utah	18	690	28	616	30	-74	45	849	44	159	45	233
Vermont	3	870	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Virginia	31	623	22	641	16	18	31	970	31	347	37	329
Washington	12	757	21	641	40	-116	30	984	40	227	32	343
West Virginia	36	604	44	539	28	-65	42	883	39	279	31	344
Wisconsin	5	846	15	660	46	-186	8	1,320	16	474	9	660
Wyoming	34	613	45	519	35	-94	48	698	48	85	48	179
Median	-	640	-	619	-	-43	-	1,019	-	382	-	425
Average	-	670	-	621	-	-42	-	1,084	-	421	-	463

\1 TANF benefits across all states was extracted from Table 7-9 of the US House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, 2000 Greenbook, Section 7, entitled "Maximum Combined TANF And Food Stamp Benefit For Families Of One To Six Persons, January 1, 2000",

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=162.140.64.37&filename=wm014_07.pdf&directory=/diskb/wais/data/106_green_book

Food stamp calculations assume that the family does not receive an excess shelter deduction. In very low benefit States, combined benefits shown reflect the maximum food stamp allotment for the family size, but in some States the excess shelter deduction would increase food stamps (by up to $83 monthly—more in Alaska and Hawaii). Calculations assume a single-parent family with no earned income and use normal rounding rules. Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service.

\2 Interstate child support guideline data was obtained from AllLaw.com and assumes 0% custody, $4,400/mo NCP net income (Vermont and New Hampshire are not included in the analysis since you must pay to find out how much you would owe in these states),

http://alllaw.com/calculators/Childsupport/

\3 Interstate child support guideline data was obtained from Table 8-2 of the US House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means 2000 Greenbook, Section 8, entitled "Amount Of Child Support Awarded By State Guidelines In Various Cases",

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=162.140.64.21&filename=wm014_08.pdf&directory=/disk2/wais/data/106_green_book

Pirog, Klotz, and Buyers (1997) have examined the differences in child support guidelines across States. Their approach was to define five hypothetical cases of custodial mothers and noncustodial fathers that capture a range of differences in income, expenses, and other factors that influence the amount of child support payments computed under the guidelines adopted by the various States. State 1997 guidelines were then applied to each of the five cases to compute the amount of child support that would be due. In each of the five cases, the mother and father are divorced. The father lives alone while the mother lives with the couples' two children, ages 7 and 13. The father pays union dues of $30 per month and health insurance for the children of $25 per month. The mother incurs monthly employment-related child care expenses of $150. The income of the father and mother that is entitled "Case D" specifies a father = $4,400/mo and a mother = $1,760/mo.