(a) Credit in the context of an ongoing support obligation. Whenever a net account credit arises in favor of the obligated parent, the arrears balance should be set at zero and:(1) Current support shall be deferred for the period of time necessary to exhaust the credit based upon the current support obligation appropriate under these Rules. This may be subsequently modified if circumstances warrant a modification of the underlying current support obligation.(2) If deferral of current support would be a hardship upon the household of the support recipient and sufficient time remains on the obligation, the Court may instead partially defer the obligation by 20% to 50% until the credit is exhausted.(3) If there is not sufficient time remaining on the obligation to exhaust the credit, the Court shall defer the obligation as in subsection (a) of this Rule, and estimate the likely termination date of the obligation and the credit balance likely to remain at termination. In estimating the termination date, the Court may presume that a child emancipates for child support purposes on June 1 following the child's 18th birthday. However, if a child was born in June, July or August, the presumed date is the child's 18th birthday. This should be adjusted in accordance with the child's actual circumstances.(b)Change of placement. (1) If the credit arises in the context of a change of placement to the obligated parent, then the credit shall be converted into a past due support balance in favor of that parent and enforceable as such.(2) If the credit arises in the context of a change of placement to a third party, then the credit shall be converted to a past due balance in favor of the obligated parent. However, the credit may be reduced to the extent the support recipient remitted the support proceeds to the new custodian or guardian, or expended the proceeds to the benefit of the child or children.(c) Termination. If the credit arises in the context of the emancipation or death of the final child of the order, then the credit shall be established as a past due support obligation in favor of the obligated parent and enforceable as such. This includes when the credit had been previously estimated as in subsection (a)(3) of this Rule. The actual amount of the credit may vary depending upon the circumstances.Del. Fam. Ct. R. Civ. P. 510
Adopted November 8, 2018, effective 2/1/2019.