A child support attorney is a lawyer who can help you with your child support obligations. Child support is based upon the legal principle that parents that don’t live together shouldn’t support their children financially. It’s a periodic payment made by one father to another to help both of them pay expenses related to raising a child, and to make sure the kids have a equal quality of life in either family. In the case of unmarried parents, child support law takes that additional step to make sure that both parents are financially supporting their child(ren).
There are two main ways in which child support can be ordered by a judge: custody and visitation. Custody refers to where the kids will live during the period of the divorce, while visitation is the time when the custodial parent has the children in their home. While the actual amount of child support payments can change based upon these two arrangements, attorneys generally advise clients to try to follow the guidelines listed above. Some states may allow for a tiered system where there might be a certain amount of child support paid by one party while the other pays the other or a combination thereof.
One thing you should be aware of if you’re going through a St. Louis Divorce is that the laws regarding child support aren’t always as cut-and-dry as in other states. Before you hire a St. Louis child support attorney, make sure you fully understand the details of your specific jurisdiction. Most of the time, a Missouri judge will issue a non-custodial/custodial order allowing both parents to collect alimony or child support as ordered by the court. In some cases, however, the judge may order only one of the parents to pay. If this happens to you believe you weren’t properly served properly, then it’s important to contact an experienced St. Louis family law attorney to get a recommendation on the correct way to go about filing. Now, if you are looking for one, check out John Buchmiller & Associates LLC website at https://www.stlouisdivorcelawyers.net/child-support/ for your Free Consultation with a St. Louis child support attorney!
In many cases, Missouri judges are reluctant to reduce child support payments because they do want the custodial parent (the one who pays child support) to make payments. Judges usually grant at least temporary relief when the non-custodial parent can’t make payments based on their financial circumstances. In cases where the judge has ordered child support payments be lowered, they will require the non-custodial parent to file an application for an exception to the payment. The exception to the payment may be based on the hardship that resulted from the non-payment, along with other factors such as inability to work, military service, or other considerations. If the court believes an exception is justified, then the court will reduce the payment.
Another factor in determining child support in St. Louis is the amount of time a parent spends with their children. The court considers the amount of time the non-custodial parent spends with the child as part of its consideration for determining child support. If the court believes the amount of time that the non-custodial parent spends with the child is more than the amount of time the custodial parent spend with the child, then the court will order the non-custodial parent to pay more in child care.
The above mentioned factors can make life very difficult for the non-custodial parents when trying to fulfill their obligation to pay child support. If you or someone you know needs help calculating child care and have been ordered to pay child support, you should contact a St. Louis family law attorney as soon as possible. The sooner you begin your research into obtaining the right advice, the better chance you and your family have of getting out of this situation with the least amount of negative impact. The St. Louis family law attorney will help you determine how much child care you are responsible to pay, as well as help you determine how much support you may be entitled to receive.