Child and spousal support
Support, worked out from the real numbers
Child support follows a formula. The fights are about what goes into it, and that's where we spend our time.
We gather pay stubs, tax returns, the cost of health insurance and childcare, and the parenting schedule, then run the numbers before anyone else does. You'll see an estimate early in the case, not at the hearing.
Spousal maintenance has no single formula. We look at the length of the marriage, each spouse's income and what each needs to get on their feet, and we tell you the range we'd expect.
What this covers
Setting child support
Spousal maintenance
Changing support after a job or income change
Collecting unpaid support
Self-employed and variable income
Health insurance and childcare costs
What goes into the number
Six things that move support
Small differences in any of these change the monthly figure. We check each one.
Each parent's income
Wages, overtime, bonuses, and what a self-employed parent really earns.
The parenting schedule
How many nights the children spend at each house.
Health insurance
Who carries the children's coverage, and what it costs.
Childcare
Daycare and after-school care a parent needs to work.
Other children
Support paid or children cared for from another relationship.
Extra costs
School fees, activities and medical bills insurance doesn't cover.
Questions
Support questions
I lost my job. Does my support go down on its own?
No. The amount stays the same until a court changes it, and unpaid support keeps adding up. Call us soon, so we can ask for a change from the date we file.
The other parent works for cash. How do you prove income?
Bank deposits, spending, past tax returns and what the job pays elsewhere all count. Courts can also assign income to a parent who isn't working when they could.
Can we agree on a number ourselves?
You can propose one, but the court has to approve it, usually by comparing it with the formula. We'll tell you if your number is likely to be accepted.
What if support isn't being paid?
The court and the state's support office have tools to collect it, from wage withholding to tax refund intercepts. We can start that and ask for what's owed.
Find out what support should be
Bring recent pay stubs and your last tax return to a first meeting, and we'll run the numbers with you.