Child support payments can be a highly contentious aspect of custody and/or divorce cases. What can make child support matters especially challenging is that, unlike other aspects of divorce or custody cases, issues associated with child support payments can continue to arise well after a divorce or custody case has been resolved.
At Goldman Law, LLC, each Denver child support lawyer at our firm is highly skilled at resolving the various issues and complications that can arise when it comes to establishing, modifying and/or enforcing child support arrangements. We have the experience, skills and legal knowledge necessary to effectively defend our clients’ best interests in child support cases so they are able to favorably and efficiently resolve any child support disputes that arise.
Establishing Child Support
When one parent in a custody or divorce case requests child support and the court agrees that such support payments should be granted, then a complicated formula will be used to calculate what these payments should be.
Some of the specific factors that will be considered in the involved process of establishing the amount of child support payments include (but are not necessarily limited to):
- How many children are involved in the case
- Each parent’s total income, which will include monthly earnings from all jobs, pensions, various benefits, etc.
- The amount of time each parent spends with (and has custody of) the involved child (or children)
- The costs of a child’s (or children’s) basic needs in a given month, including food and education costs, as well as health insurance and medical care expenses.
When the parent who will be required to pay child support has a qualifying low or high income, then the standard formula for calculating child support payments will usually not be used, and a court may take various other factors into consideration when determining child support obligations.
Modifying Child Support
Once a court has established the amount of child support payments and an official court order has been put in place regarding this obligation, the parent ordered to pay child support will likely have to continue doing so until:
- A child reaches the age of 19; or
- The month after the child has graduated from high school (whichever comes first).
If a child is disabled, child support payments for that child may continue for longer, as determined by a court.
Despite the general terms of child support obligations, people should be aware that they can petition the courts to modify the amount of child support payments if or when some aspect of one or both parents’ financial statuses changes.
For instance, if the parent ordered to pay child support ends up losing his job or becomes disabled and unable to work, he can petition the court to modify his child support obligation due to his changed financial status.
Because modifications to child support obligations can be just as complicated as the process of calculating and establishing child support, it’s important that you contact a Denver child support attorney at Goldman Law, LLC when:
- You need help getting a child support order modified; or
- You have received notice that such a petition to modify child support for you children has been filed with the court.
Enforcing Child Support Orders
When a parent who has been ordered by the court to pay child support fails to meet this obligation, the other parent may have various options for collecting arrears, and all of these options need to proceed through the proper legal channels – namely through the family court handling the custody and child support case.
Upon being informed about a parent’s failure to meet his or her child support obligation, the court will calculate the arrears (i.e., outstanding child support payments) and will determine what the best option is for enforcing and collecting these payments. In some cases, a court may authorize a wage garnishment or the garnishment of some other benefits (like unemployment or workers’ compensation benefits); in other cases, a delinquent parent may end up having to serve some jail time for a gross failure to pay child support.
The bottom line here is that you should count on the courts to handle the enforcement of child support payments and that having an experienced attorney helping you navigate this process will be key to resolving the child support matter as favorably and efficiently as possible.
Denver Child Support Lawyer at Goldman Law, LLC
When you are dealing with any matters related to child support – including determining child support, modifying support payments and collecting outstanding payments, you can trust a Denver child support lawyer at Goldman Law, LLC to provide you with superior representation so you are able to resolve your child support issues as favorably as possible.
To learn more about how we can help you with your child support case, contact us by calling (303) 656-9529 or by emailing us using the contact form on this page. From our offices in Denver, we serve clients throughout Colorado.
