And yea and verily was there much rejoicing amongst the future non-custodial parents of Minnesota, who are getting a belated gift from St. Nick on January 1st. As of 2007, all new child support cases in the state will be calculated on both parents' income. In the past, Minnesota (like most states) based child support only on the income of the non-custodial parent.
The article in the Winona Daily News has an open comments thread, with parents on both sides of the aisle spouting off about the change. It's hard to gather a consensus from the thread as many of those commenting, sadly, are morons, but it seems that opinion is fairly split, with some custodial parents arguing that their deadbeat spouse shouldn't get a "break" on support when she has all the burden of child care. Which is a fair cop: if a dad, for example, doesn't ever see his kids or take an active role in raising them, why offset the bastard's support? Hell, make him pay double for the luxury of being able to take an uninterrupted bubble bath!
Good thing I never became a family court judge. I'd be shot dead before my first term expired.
