Del. Fam. Ct. Civ. R. 506

(a) Minimum orders. Except as otherwise provided in this Rule, a support obligation for one

child shall not be less than 20% of the Primary Allowance for one child; and for 2 or more

children, 20% of the Primary Allowance for two children. Minimum orders shall be rounded

to the nearest multiple of ten (10).

(1) This limitation shall not apply where children reside in shared (at least 164 overnights in

each household) or split (at least one child of the union with primary residence in each

household) placement.

(2) A disabled person with actual income of less than the Self Support Allowance may be

assessed a lesser obligation upon consideration of the nature and extent of the disability,

cash and other resources available, and the totality of the circumstances.

(b) Self-Support Protection. Except incident to subsection (a) of this Rule, no parent shall be

placed under an obligation to pay more than a designated percentage of net available income

as determined under Rule 502(a). The designated percentage shall be 50% unless the parent

has children to support in three (3) or more households in which case the percentage shall be

35%.

(c) Automatic adjustment for incarceration.

(1) After 180 days of continuous incarceration, every prospective current support obligation

established or modified after January 31, 2019, will automatically decrease to one half of

the minimum order amount recited in Rule 506(a) as of the date of the order. This also

applies to new support and modification petitions wherein the obligated parent is

currently incarcerated and has been continually confined for more than 180 days at the

time of the hearing or mediation conference. The presumption of a reduced obligation

shall be rebutted if the obligated parent has independent income, resources, or assets with

which to pay an obligation of support consistent with his or her pre-incarceration

circumstances.

(2) A petition may be filed to determine the exact date of adjustment and whether the

individual has independent income, resources, or assets with which to pay an obligation

of support consistent with his or her pre-incarceration circumstances.

(3) The obligation will not revert upon release from incarceration, but release shall constitute

a substantial change of circumstances for modification pursuant to Rule 508.

(4) Every written order for new or modified current support shall advise of this potential

adjustment.

(5) Incarcerated parents subject to current child support orders that issued prior to February

1, 2019, or who were subsequently denied relief due to the underlying reasons for their

incarceration, may petition for modification under the standards recited in subsection (1).

However, if the obligation had already been calculated on the basis of continuous

confinement under the prior standard, then relief may only be awarded two and one-half

(21/ 2 ) years after the last determination of current support.

(6) The Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) may utilize the procedures outlined in

Rule 302 to facilitate these adjustments.