Divorce 123

Client's Guide to the DissoMaster™

DissoMaster(tm) is a computer program used by attorneys and judges for determining 
support in family law cases. Child support is determined by an algebraic formula which
the computer calculates based on the information you input. Once you become familiar
with the program you can experiment with different scenarios and determine the amount
of support payable in different situations.

The courts are, with certain exceptions, bound to follow the guideline child support amount
calculated by DissoMaster(tm). The courts are not bound by the spousal support (alimony)
amounts generated by DissoMaster(tm), but you can get a general idea regarding spousal support from DissoMaster(tm).

You can use the DissoMaster(tm) to negotiate support amounts with the other party or their attorney.

Some basic computer knowledge is necessary to use this guide.

Note for paternity case users: See Advanced Options at the end of this Guide for information
on changing the settings to exclude the spousal support calculations.

1.    Go to the DissoMaster(tm) "What If(tm)" screen. There are two columns for the input of information. The "H" column is for the husband's information. The "W" column is for the wife's information.

2.    You are now ready to enter your information. The information requested is available from the Income & Expense Declarations and tax returns of the parties.

# of kids:    Enter the number of children living with the husband in the H column and the 
number of children living with the wife in the W column.

% time w/ NCP:    Percentage of time with non-custodial parent. Enter the percentage of time the children spend with the husband if he is the non-custodial parent in the  H column, and the percentage of time the children spend with the wife if she is the non-custodial parent in the W column.

Note: If there is a 50-50 timeshare you must enter "49" in one parent's column because the program won't accept "50."

Fil status:    Enter the filing status of each party in the appropriate column. Generally,  the filing status after the divorce is used.  Usually "SINGLE" for husband and "HH/MLA" for wife.

MFJ" is married filing jointly and "MFS" is married filing separate. The arrow pointing to the other column means married to the spouse in this case and the arrow  pointing away from the other column means married to a new spouse (post-dissolution).

# fed exempt: Enter the number of dependents each party claims on their tax returns.

Entry of income information (MONTHLY AMOUNTS):

Wages+salary:    Use this line if the party has taxes taken out of their paycheck.

Self-emp inc:    Use this line if the party is self-employed or receives a 1099 and 
taxes are not taken out of the party's pay.

Other taxabl:    Enter other taxable income on this line.

AFDC+CS recd:    Enter AFDC received for any children and child support received 
for children from other relationships on this line.

Nontaxbl:    Enter non-taxable (federal) income on this line.

New sps inc:    Enter the gross monthly income of a new spouse of either party. This is merely for calculation of taxes.

IRA+Keogh:    Enter contributions. (Average per month.)

SS pd prev m:    Enter spousal support (alimony) paid by either party for  prior marriages.

CS pd prev m:    Enter child support paid by either party for other relationships.

Health insur:    Enter monthly health insurance premiums for party and dependents.

Oth med exp:    Enter medical expenses from Schedule A of federal income tax return (per month).

Prop tax exp:    Enter property taxes deducted on Schedule A of federal income  tax return (per month).

Interest exp:    Enter interest expense deducted on Schedule A of federal  income tax return (per month).

Contrib exp:    Enter charitable contributions deducted on Schedule A of federal  income tax return (per month).

Misc itemizd:    Enter other itemized expenses on Schedule A of federal income tax return (per month).

Union dues:    Enter union dues.

Mand retrmnt:    Enter mandatory retirement and pension contributions.

Hardship ded:    Enter hardship deductions. (Child Support Information page of  Income & Expense Declaration.)

Oth GDL ded:    Enter any other guideline deductions.

Add-ons(CCE):    Enter child care expense and any other add-ons.

3.    You are now ready to calculate the support amounts. The computer calculates as you 
go along, but now that all the data is entered.  The support amounts appear near the center of the screen. You will see:

Nets:Adjusted
Husb
Wife
Comb

This is the adjusted net incomes of each party and the parties combined 
based upon the data you have entered. Just below that you will see:

ChCare
GDL CS
GDL SS
Total

These amounts are the support amounts based on the information entered.
 ChCare is the amount of child-care to be paid. GDL CS is the guideline 
child support. GDL SS is the guideline spousal support. Total is, obviously,
 the total amount payable.

Negative numbers: If you see a negative number that is because the person
 with a lower net income (low-earner) is to pay that amount to the person with 
a higher net income (high-earner).

4.    Advanced options:

a. Changing settings: If you wish to calculate only either child support or
 spousal support, not both, you can change the settings in the program settings screen.

b. You can also enter the data on the Walk Thru Input (tm) screen. 

c. To the right of the "What If (tm)" screen is additional information 
regarding the income of the parties. Spousal support has tax effects 
(deductible to payor and income to payee) and DissoMaster(tm) 
uses this to maximize the monies available to the parties each month 
by proposing "family support" which is deductible to the payor and
 income to the payee. The right area of the screen details the effect
 of the support being all deductible.

Under "HUSBAND" and "WIFE" the following data appears:

Payment cost/benefit: amount of payment made or received.

Net spendable income: Net spendable income of each party 
after payment of taxes and payment or receipt of support.

% of combined net: Percentage of the combined net income 
of both parties that each party will receive.

% of change over GDLN: Difference in proposed and guideline amounts.

Total taxes: Total taxes paid by each party.

Dep exemption value: Approximate value of transferrable exemptions.

# withhold allows: Number of withholding allowances which could
 be claimed in order to increase net income of parties.

Net wage paycheck: The net paycheck to be received by each party 
each month.

By reviewing these figures you can see the effects of different support orders.

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Last modified: April 19, 2000