Lawyers who provide representation in the realm of child support may focus on a variety of issues, assisting both clients who want higher support payments and those who want their payment amount reduced. These lawyers assist when parents are not making payments as required, and when a parent has fallen behind and is having trouble catching up. Information on one particular law firm handling these cases can be seen at the website www.browndahan.com.
How Child Support Is Calculated
Parents can submit their own child support arrangement to the court as long as it is reasonable and neither is being overburdened or short-changed. If the parents cannot reach an agreement or they do not wish to have this discussion, the amount of Child Support in Orange County is first determined by a specific mathematical formula.
What Child Support Covers
Typically, the noncustodial parent pays the custodial parent, and the support is intended to provide for the noncustodial parent’s share of the children’s expenses. It also is supposed to allow for a home large and comfortable enough for the custodial parent and the kids, and the corresponding bills like electric and heating costs.
Modifications to the Calculation
A judge may modify the monthly amount determined by the mathematical formula before any support payments are made, even if the parent does not petition the court to do so. For instance, the income calculations may have included a relatively short time when the noncustodial parent earned a large amount of money. Perhaps he or she worked on a six-month federal government contract, for example. This may not be an expected or routine occurrence. The judge may prefer to review the wage pattern during more normal time frames.
A petition for modification can be made through a law firm such as Brown & Dahan if the parent previously earned a consistent level of pay but no longer does. The company this person worked for may have closed, and there may be few comparable jobs in the area. The court may agree to lower the payments if the petitioner can show reasonable attempts to find similar-paying work with no success.
Child Support in Orange County 