Starting July 1, the minimum wage for unspecified diverse activities will rise to G. 3,044,000, with the minimum daily rate set at G. 117,077. With this adjustment, child support payments must also be automatically updated, as explained by Juvenile and Adolescence Court Judge Pili Rodríguez.
According to Article 189 of the Childhood and Adolescence Code, all child support payments must be set in minimum daily rates and automatically adjusted whenever there is a salary increase. The magistrate emphasized that it is not necessary to initiate a new legal proceeding for the amount to be updated — the adjustment occurs automatically.
"Now it will vary, perhaps slightly, but it is proportional to the amount of the child support payment. It is not a fixed amount, and from the moment someone is notified, they should already know that this amount will change; since 2016, the minimum wage has been adjusted every year," Rodríguez stated.
The judge explained that the calculation of child support follows two parameters established by the Childhood and Adolescence Code: the needs of the child or adolescent — including food, health, education, transportation, leisure, extracurricular activities, and medical treatments — and the economic capacity of the parent obligated to pay, taking into account income, standard of living, and actual possibilities.
Rodríguez debunked the popular belief that child support would correspond to a fixed percentage of salary, such as 25%, 30%, or 50%. "Each case is analyzed individually, and the amount may vary depending on the circumstances of each family," she said. She explained that judges do not set the definitive amount in guaraníes, but rather in a number of minimum daily rates. Thus, when the daily rate is adjusted, the amount in local currency is updated proportionally.
The magistrate warned that failure to comply with the adjusted amount can lead to inclusion in the Registry of Delinquent Child Support Debtors after three missed payments. Being on this registry prevents the renewal or issuance of a driver's license, the completion of property purchase and sale transactions at a notary's office, and, in the case of marriage, the Civil Registry official is required to mention the person's status during the ceremony.
"No one is exempt from knowledge of the law," Rodríguez stressed, adding that in the event of non-payment of the updated amount, channels are opened for the adoption of measures to ensure effective compliance with the child support obligation.