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Stat. 2346, 42 U.S.C. secs. 602, 667 (1994), Congress mandated
that each State "must establish guidelines for child support
award amounts". Under 42 U.S.C. section 667(b)(2) (1994), "There
shall be a rebuttable presumption" that a judicial award of child
support in the amount that would result from application of the
guidelines is the correct amount of child support to be awarded.
Pennsylvania adopted in 1989, pursuant to the Act of
October 30, 1985, as amended, 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. section
4322 (West 1991), a support guideline formula that was in effect
during the years at issue in this case. See Pa. R. Civ. P.
1910.16-1 through 3. The guidelines utilize the net incomes of
both parties and are based on the assumption that a child's needs
increase as the combined net income of the parents increases.
See Pa. R. Civ. P. 1910.16-1, Explanatory Comment--1993, B.2.
(1995). The amount of child support, spousal support, or alimony
pendente lite "shall be determined in accordance with the support
guidelines" either by using the net income formula or by using
charts derived from the formula, called "grids". Pa. R. Civ. P.
1910.16-1(a); Pa. R. Civ. P. 1910.16-1, Explanatory Comment-1993,
C. (1995); Pa. R. Civ. P. 1910.16-3(a); and see Ball v. Minnick,
648 A.2d 1192 (Pa. 1994).
By court rule, if the court determines that there is an
obligation to pay support, "there shall be a rebuttable
presumption that the amount of the award determined from the
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