Family Law
2) My three year old daughter lives with her mom, my ex-girlfriend. The court has never made an order for custody and she earns more money than me will I still have to pay child support? How is the amount determined?
Yes, you do have to pay child support.
First of all, there does not have to be an order for custody for child support to be paid. The law says that whomever has day-to-day care and control of the child is owed child support.
The fact that she earns more money than you is pretty much irrelevant, unless there is a huge discrepancy between your salaries or if you could prove to a court that paying child support would create a serious hardship for you.
Its possible for you and your girlfriend to agree to an amount of child support without getting the court involved, but you should have a lawyer review your agreement. Keep in mind that a court can always veto your agreement and impose an amount that it deems proper.
The other way child support amounts are determined is by looking at the Federal Child Support Guidelines which came into force in 1997. It is a chart that tells people exactly how much child support is to be paid based on the amount of children and the payors salary. The income of the parent receiving the salary is not considered.