Can child support be settled out of court, and can that settlement be challenged in court? I am wondering if settlement of child support out of court has any bearing on the legal proceedings and if they're recognized at all by the court even if a contract was signed. Is this the case in North America, what about Europe?
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Child support arrangements can be negotiated by the parties, however, approval of the court is required to make them binding. Courts will reject arrangements that deviate too far from what a court would impose.
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What is if it's a large lump sum of money like 2 million? I am asking because sometimes it's 10-25% of the earnings, but if someone earns above $100 million a year the payments could be considered ludicrously high. – blackbird Jul 14 at 22:47
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2@blackbird To make Dale's response more clear: child support payments aren't about providing a child with a minimum standard of living. They're more geared to provide the child with a standard of living based off of what they would have had if you were supporting them in a more normal fashion. So if you're making $100m a year, the court will generally seek to provide that child with the "I have a parent who makes $100m a year" lifestyle. The (US) legal system considers that to be an obligation you signed up for when you procreated. – zibadawa timmy Jul 15 at 4:13