Georgia has approved the biggest set of changes to its child support system in 30 years. The Georgia Senate approved the changes on Thursday; I apologize for my delay in sharing it with you here.

Here’s an AP story about the changes from AccessNorthGA.com.

As we’ve discussed here before, the changes will shift calculation of child support in Georgia to an “income shares” model that takes account of the income not only of the noncustodial parent (NCP) but also of the CP as well. Georgia will also begin considering the number of nights the child spends with each parent and reduce child support if the child is spending significantly more nights with the NCP than would be the case with “standard” visitation.

Passage of the bill is a big victory for fathers’ rights advocates, because it allows fathers to negotiate to spend more time with their child and pay less child support as a result.

The spectators in the Senate gallery — mostly divorced fathers and their new families — broke into applause when the Senate approved the changes. The story quotes critics of the change as saying it will hurt CPs, mostly divorced mothers. Said one, “This legislation is not about children; it is about money, pure and simple.”

The Georgia House of Representatives has passed a bill to revise the Georgia child support guidelines. Here’s a story from the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

The bill goes now to the Senate. If it passes there and becomes law, Georgia will become the last state in the south to adopt the “income shares” model for calculating child support.

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