Many parents in Los Angeles think that they can simply make an agreement as to how much Child Support needs to be paid. While Spousal Support can often be decided by agreement amongst the parties, Child Support must be based on certain mandated factors that the Court must consider. Those factors are known as guideline support and are as follows:
• The income that both parents either earn or are able to earn.
• Actual time spent with each child
• How many children there are that qualify for support
• Tax filing status based on each parent's tax returns
• Health Insurance coverage
• Additional sources of money that help support the children
• Retirement Contributions that are mandated and not by choice
• Additional costs for the benefit of the child such as Daycare, Tutoring, etc.
Many times, parents think they can simply get an attorney to come into Court and make their own rationale for appropriate Child Support, but this is totally false. The Judical Officer must abide and consider these factors specifically or that Judicial Officer subjects themselves to an embarrassing appeal.
The real attorney's worth comes in making sure the Court is accurately and thoroughly informed about these factors, and is able to demonstrate why the current facts of the case no longer supports the Court's last Order due to a change in circumstances, law, or facts of the case. Contact a Family Law attorney in Los Angeles in order to get a straightforward, no nonsense consultation to see if your Child Support needs to be re-opened to your benefit.
