Our continuing series addresses deviations allowed by Georgia law from the presumptive amount of child support to be paid by a noncustodial parent. Following discussions of parenting time deviations, high income deviations, and low income deviations, this latest article focuses on “extraordinary expenses.”

As expressly stated, the premise for extraordinary expense deviations stems from the manner of calculation of the statutory table’s listed child support obligations. The table’s values for each combined adjusted income level of the parents and number of children derive from average child-rearing expenditures for families.(1) Where parents actually incur “extraordinary expenses” for child-rearing, governing law permits deviations from the presumptive amount of child support, as follows:

Extraordinary expenses are in excess of average amounts estimated in the child support obligation table and are highly variable among families. Extraordinary expenses shall be considered on a case-by-case basis in the calculation of support and may form the basis for deviation from the presumptive amount of child support so that the actual amount of such expense is considered in the final order for only those families actually incurring the expense. Extraordinary expenses shall be prorated between the parents by assigning or deducting credit for actual payments for extraordinary expenses.(2)

Georgia’s child support statute explicitly recognizes three distinct types of extraordinary expenses: extraordinary educational expenses; special expenses incurred for child-rearing; and extraordinary medical expenses.(3)

“Extraordinary educational expenses” include, but are not limited to, “tuition, room and board, lab fees, books, fees, and other reasonable and necessary expenses associated with special needs education or private elementary and secondary schooling that are appropriate to the parent's financial abilities and to the lifestyle of the child if the parents and the child were living together.”(4) To compute the appropriate deviation for extraordinary educational expenses, the statute imposes two explicit requirements:

(I) In determining the amount of deviation for extraordinary educational expenses, scholarships, grants, stipends, and other cost-reducing programs received by or on behalf of the child shall be considered; and

(II) If a deviation is allowed for extraordinary educational expenses, a monthly average of the extraordinary educational expenses shall be based on evidence of prior or anticipated expenses and entered on the Child Support Schedule E -- Deviations.(5)

“Special expenses incurred for child-rearing” include, but are not limited to, “quantifiable expense variations related to the food, clothing, and hygiene costs of children at different age levels[.]”(6), Those expense variations in turn include, but are not limited to, “summer camp; music or art lessons; travel; school sponsored extracurricular activities, such as band, clubs, and athletics; and other activities intended to enhance the athletic, social, or cultural development of a child but not otherwise required to be used in calculating the presumptive amount of child support as are health insurance premiums and work related child care costs.”(7) Regarding extraordinary travel expenses, “[i]f court ordered visitation related travel expenses are substantial due to the distance between the parents, the court may order the allocation of such costs or the jury may, by a finding in its special interrogatory, allocate such costs by deviation from the presumptive amount of child support, taking into consideration the circumstances of the respective parents as well as which parent moved and the reason for such move”(8)

Because the basic statutory child support obligation partially covers average amounts of special expenses incurred for the rearing of a child, an extraordinary expense deviation requires above-average special expenses.(9) Specifically, if a court or jury, after considering the full amount of the recognized special expenses, finds that such special expenses exceed 7 percent of the basic child support obligation, “then the additional amount of special expenses shall be considered as a deviation to cover the full amount of the special expenses.”(10)

“Extraordinary medical expenses” include, but are not limited to, “extraordinary medical expenses of the child or a parent of the child.”(11) A court or jury may award a deviation for extraordinary medical expenses only: a) “[i]n instances of extreme economic hardship involving extraordinary medical expenses not covered by insurance” – after considering “the resources available for meeting such needs, including sources available from agencies and other adults;” b) where the deviation “[s]hall not act to leave a child unsupported;” and c) “for a specific period of time measured in months.”(12)

As with all deviations from the presumptive amount of child support, a court or jury must support its extraordinary expense deviation with explicit written findings that an amount of child support other than the presumptive amount calculated is reasonably necessary to provide for the needs of the child.(13) The written findings must state: a) the reasons for the deviation from the presumptive amount of child support; b) the amount of child support that would have been required if the presumptive amount of child support had not been rebutted; c) that application of the presumptive amount of child support would be unjust or inappropriate considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support; d) how application of the presumptive amount of child support would be unjust or inappropriate, and e) how the best interest of the child for whom support is being determined will be served by deviation from the presumptive amount of child support.(14) Failure to include any of those written findings in a child support order mandates reversal of the child support determination on appeal.(15)

Presumably, the above written findings must accompany a child support calculation requiring a noncustodial parent to contribute toward payment of special expenses of child-rearing, whether or not those special expenses exceed 7 percent of the basic child support obligation. One published appellate seemingly has confirmed that requirement, albeit without specifically denoting the amount of special expenses incurred in the case.(16)

(1) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(J). (2) Id. (3) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(i)-(iii). (4) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(i). (5) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(i)(I)-(II). (6) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(ii). (7) Id. (8) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(F). (9) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(ii). (10) Id. (11) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(iii). (12) Id. (13) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(1)(B). See also Brogdon v. Brogdon, 290 Ga. 618, 622(5), 723 S.E.2d 421 (2012). (14) O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(c)(2)(E); and O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i)(1)(B)(i)-(iii). See also Brogdon, supra, 290 Ga. at 623(5). (15) Brogdon, supra, 290 Ga. at 623(5); and Woodson v. Lino, 345 Ga.App. 745, 815 S.E.2d 113, 117 (2018). (16) Blumenshine v. Hall, 329 Ga.App. 449, 453(4), 765 S.E.2d 647 (2014).