M.C. v. T.K.

We are asked to address whether, and in what amount, child support may be ordered with respect to parents who never married, but who share legal and physical custody of their child, enjoy comparable standards of living, and have incomes that exceed the levels to which the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (guidelines) presumptively apply. A judge in the Probate and Family Court ordered that the father pay the mother $454 in weekly child support, which had the effect of equalizing the parties’ net incomes. In deciding whether it was within the judge’s discretion to fashion a child support…