Support Payments Workbook: Documenting Income, Calculating Amounts, and Preparing Your Affidavit

Support calculations depend almost entirely on documentation: how income is defined, what expenses are included, and how each figure is verified. Errors or omissions in the financial affidavit can significantly shift a support figure — and an inaccurate affidavit can have legal consequences. This workbook provides the structured process for gathering, organizing, and presenting your financial information accurately for child support and alimony proceedings. By the end of this course you will be able to compile a complete and accurate financial disclosure showing all sources of income and monthly expenses, calculate a preliminary child support figure using your state's income-shares or percentage-of-income model, identify and document non-wage income that courts typically include in support calculations, prepare a defensible financial affidavit, and evaluate the financial affidavit submitted by the other party for completeness and accuracy. What you will learn: - A comprehensive income documentation checklist: wages, bonuses, commissions, rental income, business income, investment distributions, and benefits - How to calculate monthly gross income from various income types including seasonal and variable earnings - Expense categorization worksheets for completing the monthly budget section of a financial affidavit - How to run a preliminary child support calculation using publicly available state guidelines calculators - Common omissions and errors in financial affidavits and how to identify them in opposing disclosures - Documentation requirements for self-employed income and closely held business interests - How to attach supporting exhibits to a financial affidavit: statement selection, dating, and organization - A review checklist for signing a financial affidavit under oath: what the signature attests to and why accuracy matters The course is organized as a document-building exercise. You begin with income documentation, then move through expense categorization, support calculation, and affidavit assembly. Each section provides a template or checklist and a worked example showing how a realistic income profile is translated into the required court format. Self-assessment questions prompt you to verify completeness at each stage before advancing. The course concludes with a review framework for examining the other party's affidavit for gaps or inconsistencies. This course is written for individuals who are in the support determination phase of a divorce and want to handle the financial documentation process accurately and systematically — no prior accounting or legal experience is required. It is suitable for those working with an attorney, a mediator, or navigating an uncontested support agreement. This course is informational and educational; it does not constitute legal or financial advice, and your completed affidavit should be reviewed by a licensed attorney before submission.