How to run Alimony Child Support in DocketMath for Brazil

Step-by-step

Run this scenario in DocketMath using the Alimony Child Support calculator.

This is a practical walkthrough for running alimony (spousal/partner support) and child support calculations for Brazil (BR) in DocketMath using the alimony-child-support calculator and jurisdiction-aware rules.

1) Open the correct DocketMath calculator (Brazil)

1. Open the calculator here: /tools/alimony-child-support
2. Confirm the calculator is using Brazil (BR) jurisdiction settings inside DocketMath (the jurisdiction code should reflect BR).

2) Understand what the calculator is designed to compute

In DocketMath, the alimony-child-support calculator is set up to produce support-type payment results, typically including:

• Child support (based on inputs related to children)
• Alimony (spousal/partner support) where the calculator model supports it

What you see in the output depends on what you enter and which toggles you enable. If you provide child-related inputs and enable child support, the child-support section should populate. If you enable alimony and provide the needed spousal inputs, the alimony section should populate.

3) Enter the required “income and obligation” inputs

Start with the income inputs first, because they usually drive the largest changes in the computed support amounts (or the modeled gap between capacity and need).

Use this checklist to confirm you’re not leaving out items the calculator expects:

How outputs typically respond when you change inputs:

• Higher payor income generally increases the modeled support capacity.
• Higher recipient income generally reduces the modeled gap (depending on the calculator’s BR rules, caps, or adjustments).
• More children typically increases the child-support component (with BR-specific calculations applied by the tool).

4) Add the “case configuration” inputs that change the result

Next, configure which components apply and any scenario switches that the Brazil rules require.

Common configuration inputs may include:

Practical interpretation tips:

• If you turn child support off, DocketMath should stop calculating that component and the overall total should reflect only the remaining enabled support types.
• If you turn alimony off, the total should exclude the alimony-related component.

5) Review the schedule and confirm units (monthly vs annual)

Before trusting any amounts shown:

• Confirm whether DocketMath displays results in monthly terms (or another cadence set for BR).
• If any income fields are labeled annual, check whether the calculator normalizes internally (or whether you must enter them in the expected cadence).

Why this matters: entering yearly income into a monthly field (or vice versa) is one of the fastest ways to produce misleading results.

6) Run the calculation and capture outputs

Click Calculate / Run (the button name may vary).

Then review:

• Child support result (if enabled)
• Alimony result (if enabled)
• Total monthly support (if the calculator provides a combined figure)
• Any breakdown section showing how inputs affect the outcome

Simple output logic check:

• If only child support is enabled, the total (if shown) should match the child-support output (or follow a tool-specific “total” definition).
• If both are enabled, the “total” should represent the combined (and rule-adjusted) result shown by the calculator, rather than a purely manual sum.

7) Iterate with controlled changes to see output sensitivity

To make your estimate usable, run a few “what-if” scenarios—changing one variable at a time so you can see which input drives the result.

A practical 2–3 run pattern:

1. Baseline run: enter best-estimate payor income, recipient income, and number of children (if applicable).
2. Change payor income only: update payor income and rerun to see how support changes.
3. Change recipient income only: update recipient income and rerun.
4. Change number of children only (optional): adjust the child count and rerun.

This controlled approach helps you interpret whether the BR rules in DocketMath behave as expected given your inputs.

8) Save or export your results (if available)

If DocketMath supports saving/exporting:

• Save the baseline as something like: “BR support estimate - baseline”
• Save each variant separately (for example: “BR support estimate - higher payor income”)

This prevents accidental overwrites and keeps your assumptions auditable when you compare scenarios.

Common pitfalls

Below are frequent issues when running Brazil (BR) support estimates in DocketMath—plus quick ways to detect them.

Pitfall checklist

• If you want child support only, make sure alimony is disabled.

  • If you want alimony only, make sure child support is disabled.
  • Re-check field labels and any unit hints near inputs.
  • Use the calculator’s dedicated “number of children” field rather than trying to replicate child-related inputs by duplication (unless the UI explicitly provides that structure).
  • When comparing scenarios, keep everything the same except the one variable you’re testing.
  • Many tools apply BR-specific adjustments, minimum/maximum limits, or rounding rules. If a breakdown exists, treat the tool’s breakdown as the authoritative structure.
  • Brazilian number formatting can display thousands separators in ways that look unusual. Confirm you’re reading the displayed values correctly.

Quick sanity tests you can do

• If you set recipient income much lower than in your baseline, does the calculated support move upward? (It should generally move in that direction if the tool models need/capacity gaps.)
• If you increase the number of children by 1 (when enabled), does the child-support component increase? It typically should change meaningfully rather than staying identical.

Try it

You can run a Brazil-focused support estimate in DocketMath like this:

1. Open the calculator: /tools/alimony-child-support
2. Set jurisdiction to BR
3. Enter:

   • Payor income
   • Recipient income
   • Number of children (only if calculating child support)
4. Toggle:

   • Child support on/off
   • Alimony on/off
5. Click Calculate and review:

   • Child support result (if enabled)
   • Alimony result (if enabled)
   • Total monthly support (if shown)
6. Do one sensitivity run:

   • Change only payor income by a small, known amount and confirm the output responds in the expected direction.

If you’re comparing scenarios, repeat the workflow while keeping a separate saved copy for the baseline and each variant.

Related reading

• Alimony & Child Support Estimator Guide for Alabama
• Alimony & Child Support Estimator Guide for Arizona
• Alimony & Child Support Estimator Guide for Colorado