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child support guidelines.2 The Federal law contains a rebuttable
presumption that the amount of child support awarded from
application of the guidelines is correct. See 42 U.S.C. sec.
667(b)(2) (1994).
In Pennsylvania, the requirement of statewide guidelines was
established by 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. sec. 4322 (1991). Rule
1910.16-5 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure sets forth
the applicability of the guidelines in establishing child
support, and provides that if a recommendation for support
departs from the guidelines, the trial court is required to
provide an explanation for the deviation. The guidelines utilize
the net incomes of both parents 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. Proc. 1910.16-1, Explanatory
Comment B.2. Although the guidelines contemplate both allocated
and unallocated awards, rule 1960.16-5(f) of the Pennsylvania
2See Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984, Pub. L.
98-378, sec. 18(a), 98 Stat. 1305, 1321, amended by the Family
Support Act of 1988, Pub. L. 100-485, tit. I, sec. 103(a) and
(b), 102 Stat. 2346.
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