The difficulties in enforcing support obligations when the person owing support has left the state has led to the adoption of these uniform laws.

In general, these laws provide for enforcement of support obligations in another state when the other state has adopted similar legislation.

An inflexible support obligation can also deter fathers who want to help but need extra training so they can qualify for better-paying jobs.

Encouraging Training In experiments around the country, fathers have had support obligations suspended while they train for better-paying jobs; the mother still receives her welfare grant.

A husband in Islam must use his inheritance to support his family while a wife has no support obligations.

In cases of bankruptcy, credit card companies wanted unpaid credit card bills to have the same priority as spousal and child support obligations.

Finally, the support obligation is pro-rated between the parents depending on their share of the total income.

These amounts are added together, and then the courts look at each parent's minimal self-support needs and percentage of total net income to determine the support obligation.

What constitutes a support obligation is often cloudy, however.

In some states, private school or college are considered a support obligation, so funds withdrawn from a custodial account to cover tuition may be taxed at the parent's higher rate.