ESTABLISHING CHILD SUPPORT

Each parent has a legal responsibility to support his or her children financially according to his or her ability, regardless of whether he or she is separated, divorced, or never lived together with the other parent. Child support is the child’s right. It is not either parent’s right. Child support is money that is paid for the benefit of the child. It is not a fee that is paid in exchange for or as a condition for spending time with the children. 

Parentage must first be established before a court can make child support orders. Unless parentage is established, a court cannot make orders for child support, health insurance, or reimbursement of pregnancy and birth expenses. If the parents were married when the child was conceived, or if the parents executed a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage form after the birth of the child, the court may go directly to the child support issue.

In most cases a guideline child support formula is used to determine which parent should pay support, and how much the base child support amount should be. The formula looks at each parent’s ability to provide for the child’s needs based on their financial circumstances, and the amount of time the child spends with each parent. In addition to the base child support amount, the paying parent (or both parents) may be required to pay additional support for the children’s special needs, child care, and uninsured health care costs. Child support obligations usually continue until children turn 18 (or 19 if they are still in high school full time, living at home, and cannot support themselves).

If you are a parent who needs the other parent to pay child support or to provide health insurance coverage for your child, or to obtain reimbursement of pregnancy and birth expenses, and the other parent refuses to voluntarily cooperate, we can help you commence action in court to establish parentage (if necessary) and to obtain the child support orders. 

DELAY CAN COST YOU. CHILD SUPPORT CANNOT BE ORDERED RETROACTIVELY. CALL US TODAY TO DISCUSS YOUR CASE.

RESPONDING TO MOTIONS FOR CHILD SUPPORT ORDER

If you are a parent who has been served with court papers asking for an order to make you pay child support or to provide health insurance coverage for a child, we can help you contest the child support case and ensure that child support amount you are ordered to pay is not more than you should be paying based on your circumstance and ability, and the other parent’s circumstance and ability. We can also help you contest the child support case by challenging paternity/parentage (if applicable). 

DELAY CAN COST YOU. IN MOST CASES CHILD SUPPORT CANNOT BE RETROACTIVELY SET ASIDE. CALL US TODAY TO DISCUSS YOUR CASE.

MODIFYING OR TERMINATING CHILD SUPPORT

If since the last child support order was made, you or the other parent have experienced a significant change in circumstance or situation that affects your ability to pay child support, , either parent can apply to have the child support order changed or modified. 

Typical changes in circumstance which warrant a modification of child support include change to either parent's income, loss or reduction in employment, incarceration, change in the amount of time that the children spend with each parent, court ordered child support for other children, and additional children who now live in your home. You should know that even if your circumstances have changed, the court cannot change support to a time any earlier than the date you file your paperwork with the court. For example, if you suffer a reduction in income or lose your job but do not file your paperwork with the court until 90 days later, the court cannot change your support back to the time when you lost your job. The court can only change your support to the date you filed your paperwork. Therefore you should contact Ihejirika & Associates, P.C whenever you or the other parent experiences a substantial change of income or circumstance to see whether you should file for a change of child support.

LOWERING YOUR CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION.

We can help lower the child support amount that you have been ordered to pay to the other parent if: 

• Your child custody order now gives you more custody time; 
• Your child(ren) now spends more time with you;
• You have experienced a reduction of income, loss of employment, or incarcerated; 
• You have been ordered to pay child support for other children; 
• You now have more children in your household who you support; 
• The other parent has experienced an increase in income.

DELAY CAN COST YOU. IN MOST CASES CHILD SUPPORT CANNOT BE RETROACTIVELY MODIFIED. CALL US TODAY TO DISCUSS YOUR CASE.

INCREASING YOUR CHILD SUPPORT. 

We can help increase child support amount that the other parent is ordered to pay to you if: 

• Your child custody order now gives you more custody time; 
• Your child(ren) now spends more time with you; 
• You have experienced a reduction of income or loss of employment; 
• You have been ordered to pay child support for other children; 
• You now have more children in your household who you support;  
• The other parent has experienced an increase in income.

DELAY CAN COST YOU. IN MOST CASES CHILD SUPPORT CANNOT BE RETROACTIVELY MODIFIED. CALL US TODAY TO DISCUSS YOUR CASE.