Anyone with a child who is considering a possible divorce will have legitimate concerns about their child’s health and well-being, let alone their life situation. When it comes to alimony specifically, it is very important to understand what factors influence the court’s decision on who gets the alimony and how much.
If you are a parent with no physical location for your child and your income drops significantly or your ex-spouse’s income increases significantly, you should contact a houston child support lawyer to file a petition for a reduction in your child support obligation. If you are unable to pay support due to a change in circumstances, you must file a support change petition immediately; otherwise, you may be subject to contempt of court proceedings for non-payment of child support.
Here are some of the factors that influence your child support decision:
As a rule, the starting point for calculations is the income of both parents and the expenses that are considered necessary for the child. For example, this guide includes work-related childcare costs as well as health insurance and recurrent emergency medical expenses. Food, shelter and clothing needs have already been addressed in the childcare guidelines.
Whether a parent is considered to have primary physical custody or joint physical custody also affects child support. For example, joint physical custody requires a minimum of 128 overnight stays per year for each parent.
In some cases, a threshold may be reached where standard support calculations are no longer used. For example, if parents earn more than $ 15,000 a month, the court is not required to adhere to typical calculations and may deviate from official or typical state guidelines.
There are other factors, of course. This, of course, includes how many children the couple has and whether they have children from a previous marriage, or current child support and child support obligations under a previous court order.
It is important to note that different states and locations often have different rules. They are not nationally defined, so people living in different parts of the country should be sure to find out what applies to them and their area.
In addition, consultation and work with an experienced lawyer is always necessary. This is true for all divorce-related issues, but even more important for this issue as well as child custody. A lawyer should be able to guide you through the process as smoothly and efficiently as possible and help you achieve the best possible outcome.
If you have any further concerns or questions about Houston child support, Brandon Bernstein Law Office recommends that you read their detailed guide. In addition to answering the most frequently asked questions about child support, the guide also offers a comprehensive collection of information about child custody in Houston.
