Child support helps cover a child’s expenses as they grow and helps ensure both parents contribute. A child support lawyer in Spokane can help you prepare for what to expect, understand how child support is calculated, and navigate disputes and resolutions that can arise. This process can be complicated, and a lawyer can help simplify it and provide much-needed clarity.
Dellino Family Law provides legal guidance on the intricacies of child support to ensure financial fairness, the child’s best interests, and the avoidance of undue hardship. A Spokane family law lawyer helps you calculate the value of your child support based on state formulas and situational factors. We are also equipped to handle high-conflict situations and reach a resolution that is legally agreeable.
Choose the Team With Over 180 Years of Combined Experience on Their Side
Dellino Family Law provides exceptional and accessible service to ensure your needs are met during your legal case. We know that raising a child is expensive, and doing so when you and your co-parent do not live together can be more challenging. That is why we fight to ensure that the child’s needs are met through an established child payment schedule that adequately covers financial expenses.
We provide relentless advocacy throughout your case to help you secure positive results and either get the support you need or provide for your child without causing financial difficulty. Our team takes the time to understand your needs, handle the numbers, and prepare you for what to expect once child support is established.
Our team has over 180 years of combined legal experience, which allows us to tailor the counsel we give you. We have also built many relationships and resources during that time, which we use to help us serve you better. Navigating child support can be overwhelming, but we take the lead and regularly communicate with you.
Establishing Child Support and Calculating Payments
Child support is money paid by one parent to the other to help cover their child’s expenses when the parents have split up. Parents are obligated to both provide financially for their child. Generally, the non-custodial parent makes child support payments, but when custody is shared equally, the higher-earning parent may be responsible for paying child support.
To determine how much child support is in Washington State, the court considers both parents’ income, the number of children, and the custody schedule the couple has agreed to. Washington uses formulas to determine payment amounts based on the parents’ combined income and number of children, as outlined in the Washington State child support schedule.
It is worth noting that there are exceptions to these formulas when a parent has no income or when a couple has a high net worth. These situations are handled on a case-by-case basis, and the courts review the circumstances before determining how child support should be handled. Child support for low earners may be a minimum of $50, while high earners may pay more.
Child Support Can be Modified When There is a Significant Change in Circumstances
Child support agreements are set when they are approved by the court. To ensure that a child has stability, these orders cannot be changed unless certain circumstances are met and a court approves a modification. It’s also important to know what to do if you think you are not getting enough child support. A Spokane child support attorney can walk you through what to do.
Child support modifications can be made if there is a substantial financial change for better or worse. This could include an increase or decrease in income and what you can pay, or changes to the child’s expenses. When this happens, paperwork can be filed with the court to initiate a modification. You must provide the reason for the requested change and be able to back it up with evidence.
Once the necessary paperwork has been submitted, you must wait for a court to review it and render a decision before any alterations are made to the payments. If a judge grants a modification order, then payments can be increased or decreased according to the terms of the adjusted agreement. Lawyers can help ensure you have a strong request and evidence to secure the change you request.
Talk to a Child Support Attorney in Spokane About Child Support Violations and Disputes
Since parents are required by law to provide for their children financially and court orders are binding, parents must carefully consider the terms of child support from the outset. Coming to an agreement can be difficult for couples, though, and can result in disputes over how much child support should be paid. Disputes can also arise later if payments are late, missed, or changed without court approval.
Violating or failing to meet child support responsibilities is taken very seriously and can result in legal action or other repercussions. Some common actions the Division of Child Support can take to enforce a child support order in these situations include implementing liens, license suspension, wage/tax garnishment, prosecution, and other punishments as needed for the offense.
If you and your co-parent are fighting over child support, seek out the counsel of a lawyer right away. These cases can become complicated and escalate very quickly, so the presence of a lawyer can help ensure your rights are protected and provide valuable insight and structure to address the issue and resolve the dispute or violation.
Hire an Experienced Lawyer so You Do Not Have to Navigate Child Support Alone
Dellino Family Law protects your rights as you navigate your child support case. We help determine the child’s expenses, navigate income calculations, and build a strong case that can obtain a satisfactory outcome.
With a Spokane child support lawyer representing you, you can rest easier knowing you have an experienced lawyer to guide you through the process. Contact us for a consultation today.
