How Courts Determine Child Support

Even in the most amicable of divorces, the issue of what happens to the children is almost always the most contentious. Determining how both parents will financially support their children while living separately is a difficult decision that requires a lot of consideration. During this process, it is important that you are well-represented by an experienced and knowledgeable divorce attorney.

What Factors into the Court’s Decision?

In a mediated divorce, parents can come to a mutual decision about who gets primary custody and what the other parent’s visitation rights will be. If the parents cannot come to a decision, they will have to take the issue of custody to court to have it decided by a judge. If this step happens, the judge decides both primary custody and visitation, taking into account the character and fitness of each parent.

Despite a couple’s ability to mediate on their own, they will have to take the issue of child support to a judge. The parent without primary custody must provide a sum amount to provide for the child’s basic living expenses, such as food, clothing, housing, education, and medical expenses. Calculating the amount of expenses usually depends on various criteria:

• Age of the child
• Any specific health or education needs
• The standard of living the child was accustomed to
• Each parent’s annual salary (and any bonuses received)

When the court determines the cost of child support and each parent’s capacity to financially support the child, it assigns the non-primary custody holder child support payments equaling their due amount. The parent with primary custody takes over financial responsibility by default.

Consult with a Child Support Attorney in The Woodlands

It is important that child support payments benefit the children and the parent with custody without significantly impinging on the other parent’s quality of life. The attorneys at the BB Law Group PLLC, can help you achieve the support settlement that works best for you and your family. To discuss your child support case with one of The Woodlands divorce lawyers, please call us at (832) 534-2589.