Rule 500.Delaware child support formula; general principles

Ch. XVII: Delaware Child Support Formula · Last amended 2023 · Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified September 9, 2026

In one sentenceRule 500 makes the Delaware Child Support Formula a rebuttable presumption, requires reasons for any deviation, reviews the Formula every four years and adjusts its numbers each February 1.

Full Text of Rule 500

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d)

(a) Rebuttable Presumption.

(1) The Delaware Child Support Formula (the “Formula”) shall serve as a rebuttable presumption for the establishment and modification of child support obligations in the State of Delaware. The Formula shall be rebutted upon a preponderance of the evidence that the results are not in the best interest of the child or are inequitable to the parties. Every contested order deviating from the Formula shall state the factual findings and reasoning for the deviation.

(2) Every contested order that rebuts the presumptive applicability of the Formula on grounds the results are not in the best interest of the children or inequitable to the parties shall be archived for analysis at the next quadrennial review and update as provided in subsection (b). Application of the evidentiary presumptions within the Formula (Rules 500-510) constitute the application of the Formula and not a deviation from the Formula.

(3) The Court may decline to adopt any agreement deviating from the Formula that is clearly contrary to the best interest of the child. Any consent order resolving new support or modification of support petitions must have attached a calculation pursuant to the Formula, whether it is one utilized or one from which there is a deviation.

(b) Review, Update, and Adjustment. The Delaware Child Support Formula shall be reviewed and updated no less than every four years with revisions implemented not later than February 1 of the year following each quadrennial review. The numerical values utilized in the Formula will be adjusted not later than February 1 of each year utilizing predetermined objective criteria. The Court will create appropriate forms, tables, and instructions to facilitate consistent and accurate application of the Formula.

(c) The rules in effect at the time of a hearing or mediation apply to all prospective and retroactive determinations of support. However, if a hearing commences prior to an amendment of these rules but is not completed until after the amendment, then the prior rules shall apply up until the effective date of the amendment.

(d) Notice; Admissibility of Reports.

(1) Any notice for mediation or a hearing to be conducted under the Formula shall include, in plain language, an advisory that parties are obligated to bring a Child Support Financial Disclosure Report pursuant to Rule 16(a) with adequate supporting documentation.

(2) Any notice for mediation or a hearing under this rule shall also advise the parties that quarterly wage reports provided by their employer(s) to the state and federal Departments of Labor may be presented in any case involving the Division of Child Support Services. The notice must advise the parties that these reports are available to the parties prior to the mediation or hearing upon request to the Delaware Department of Justice, Child Support Unit (DOJ). Contact information for the DOJ must be included in the notice.

(3) At any mediation or hearing conducted under the Formula, the Court may consider representations of income for each party as reported by employers to the state or federal Departments of Labor. Income reports provided by the state or federal Departments of Labor shall be presumptively admissible evidence without further authentication. If the contents of a report admitted under this rule are materially contradicted by credible documentation of income or testimony during a hearing, or if a party did not receive notice that the income reports could be presented at the hearing, then the Court may in its discretion disregard the report or provide the parties at least ten (10) days to submit further documentation to resolve the discrepancy. All but the last four (4) digits of any Social Security number shall be redacted. Further redaction may occur upon leave of court for good cause shown.

(4) A fully executed Child Support Disclosure Report with authorized documentation may be admitted into evidence as a single exhibit subject to challenge of its individual components.

End

Amendment History

Delaware prints each rule’s amendment history as a single “Credits” line naming every order that adopted or amended it. It is reproduced verbatim below.

[Adopted effective August 28, 2008. Amended effective January 1, 2011; April 20, 2015; February 1, 2019; November 1, 2020; February 1, 2023.]

Plain-English Summary

The presumption. The Formula is a rebuttable presumption for establishing and modifying child support in Delaware. It is rebutted on a preponderance of the evidence that its results are not in the child's best interest or are inequitable to the parties, and every contested order that departs from it must state the factual findings and the reasoning for the departure.

A presumption rather than a rule is the whole design. Support should be predictable enough that two parents can work out the answer before they get to court, and flexible enough to be wrong sometimes.

Departures are studied. Every contested order that rebuts the Formula is archived for analysis at the next review. Deviations become evidence about the Formula itself — if judges keep departing from it in the same situation, that is a fact about the Formula, and the review is where it gets fixed. Applying an evidentiary presumption inside the Formula is not a deviation from it.

Agreements. The court may decline to adopt an agreement that deviates from the Formula and is clearly contrary to the child's best interest. Every consent order on a new or modified support petition must have a Formula calculation attached — whether it is the one used or the one being departed from. Parents may settle for a different number, but nobody may settle without knowing what the number would have been.

Kept current. The Formula is reviewed and updated no less than every four years, with revisions in force no later than February 1 of the following year, and its numerical values are adjusted by February 1 each year on predetermined objective criteria. The rules in force at the hearing or mediation apply to both prospective and retroactive determinations; where a hearing starts before an amendment and finishes after it, the earlier rules govern up to the amendment's effective date.

Notice and proof of income. Every notice of a mediation or hearing under the Formula must say in plain language that the parties must bring a Child Support Financial Disclosure Report with adequate supporting documentation. It must also warn that quarterly wage reports supplied by employers to the state and federal labour departments may be presented in any case involving the Division of Child Support Services, that those reports can be obtained beforehand on request to the Department of Justice Child Support Unit, and how to contact that unit.

Those reports are presumptively admissible without further authentication. But if credible documentation or testimony materially contradicts one, or if a party never got the warning, the court may disregard the report or give the parties at least 10 days to file more documentation. All but the last 4 digits of a social security number are redacted, and more may be redacted for good cause.

A fully executed disclosure report with its authorised documentation may go in as a single exhibit, still open to challenge component by component.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Delaware Child Support Formula mandatory?

It is a rebuttable presumption. It is rebutted on a preponderance of the evidence that the results are not in the best interest of the child or are inequitable to the parties, and every contested order deviating from it must state the factual findings and reasoning.

How often does the Formula change?

It is reviewed and updated no less than every four years, with revisions implemented no later than February 1 of the following year, and its numerical values are adjusted no later than February 1 each year.

Can we agree on a different amount of child support?

The court may decline to adopt an agreement deviating from the Formula that is clearly contrary to the child's best interest, and every consent order must have a Formula calculation attached.

Can my employer's wage reports be used against me?

Income reports provided by the state or federal labour departments are presumptively admissible without further authentication, though the court may disregard one that is materially contradicted, or allow at least 10 days for further documentation.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Delaware Family Court Rules of Civil Procedure (Fam. Ct. Civ. R. 500), and every rule has been checked word for word against the Delaware Family Court’s own published edition of these rules. Current through June 1, 2026. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 9, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: Delaware Child Support Formulachild support presumption Delawaredeviation from formula DelawareFam. Ct. Civ. R. 500