Child Support Help from Albany Lawyers/Attorneys
As a parent, your first concern is the health and well-being of your child and that means you must protect your child financially. Often, child support determinations can become more complicated and difficult to resolve than custody agreements. Whether you are looking to collect child support or you are concerned about your support obligations, we are here to help you understand your rights and help you navigate this often – complex area of the law.
Child support determinations are based on statutory law, known as the Child Support Standards Act. The Child Support Standards Act requires the non-custodial parent to pay basic child support to the custodial parent and for each parent to pay their pro-rata shares of certain add-ons. Those add-ons include health insurance, uninsured health expenses, child-care and education.
When parents have equal parenting time and there is no “custodial parent” so the Court must determine who the monied parent is. For support purposes, the monied-parent, or parent who earns more, is then considered the non-custodial parent for support calculation purposes and must pay support.
Despite this law being based largely on a numerical calculation, it is important that the other variables and factors are presented to the Court and assessed fairly. The Court considers factors such as:
- Each parent’s income and income ability
- Long-term disability, either of the child or a parent
- Special needs
- The child’s existing standard of living
- Any agreement that parents create
Other information that may be considered or required to show at court include accurate incomes of both parties, deductions and employment expenses.
At your initial consultation we will review the support formula with you and give you an overview of your rights and obligations.
Modification of Child Support
Unless you have opted out, you can modify your child support every three years, upon either parent’s income changing by 15% or upon the showing of a substantial change in circumstances.
A substantial change in circumstances can include circumstances such as:
- Loss of employment
- Illness or disability of the paying parent
- A change in the child’s medical needs
- A change in the child’s place of residence
- Emancipation of child
- A change in the child’s needs, such as a child attending college
The attorneys at Rhoades Cunningham & McFadden, PLLC are well-versed in child support and it is important to have skilled attorneys advise you of your rights and options and advocate for you.
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