Ambler Child Support Lawyer
Dedicated Family Lawyers in Ambler Strive to Ensure Clients’ Fair Treatment Under PA Child Support Laws
Child support is a financial obligation that a parent pays to the other custodial parent to provide for their child’s needs. This is because all parents have an obligation to care for their children regardless of custody arrangement or where the children reside. Under Pennsylvania law, each parent is required to financially support their children until the children are emancipated, which usually occurs when children graduate from high school and turn 18. Although the child support regulations offer a guideline for calculating a child support obligation, in many cases determining child support is far from simple.
Involved In A Child Support Matter And Have Questions? We Can Help, Tell Us What Happened.
The experienced Ambler child support attorneys of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford understand that you want to ensure that your children are provided for while also being treated fairly by the child support laws. Child support is an important obligation under Pennsylvania law; anyone who fails to pay child support is subject to having their paycheck or pension payments garnished, their bank accounts seized, their driver’s or professional licenses suspended, or even being forced to pay fines or serve time in jail. Therefore, you need a dedicated attorney who can ensure that you are treated fairly during child support proceedings. If you have fallen behind on child support payments or need to enforce an existing order, the Ambler child support lawyers of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford will help protect the rights of you and your children.
Calculation of Child Support Obligations
Although child support calculations begin with each parent’s income, the guidelines take into account several other factors, including:
- The income of each parent, including from paychecks, pension, Social Security payments, business income, etc.
- The relative earning capacity of each parent
- The existing custody arrangement
- The number of children to be supported
- The amount of expenses involved, including school tuition, child care, medical expenses, and reasonable extra-curricular and recreational activities
- Any special needs of a child
- The standard of living the child enjoyed prior to the parents’ separation, if applicable
Aside from the parties’ incomes, the biggest factor in determining child support is the custody arrangement. Although the parent with primary physical custody is often awarded child support, the amount can be reduced or even eliminated if the other parent enjoys significant periods of physical custody, since that parent would be shouldering some of the child’s expenses during these periods of custody.
Get Advice From An Experienced Ambler, PA Child Support Attorney. All You Have To Do Is Call 215-822-7575 To Receive Your Free Case Evaluation.
Ambler Child Support Attorneys Offer Effective Legal Representation in Child Support Proceedings
Ambler child support lawyers of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford understand that determining child support can be a complicated process, as many parents have complex factors in their lives that make the support calculation less than straightforward. Our attorneys can help you address all kinds of complicating factors, such as:
- If you or your child’s parent derive much or all of your income from self-employment
- Seeking modification of an existing child support order to address changed circumstances in your, your child’s, or your child’s parent’s life
- Enforcement of existing child support orders
- Uncovering income or assets hidden by your child’s other parent to reduce their child support obligation
- Resolving paternity — parents have an obligation to support their children even if they never married their child’s other parent
It is important to remember that what the court finds to be your income may be different from your taxable income. The court is authorized to include other sources of income and assets beyond what you report as your adjusted gross income, such as including retirement account contributions or other income that is deductible or not subject to taxation. Ultimately, your child support obligation may reflect your total earning capacity rather than your taxable income. That is why our attorneys will help you address any complications that arise with respect to your child support and fight for your and your children’s rights.
Contact Our Experienced Child Support Attorneys in Ambler, PA
At Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford, our lawyers will walk you through the child support process, or help you understand any existing child support orders entered for your family. Our Ambler child support lawyers can also help you enforce an existing child support order if your child’s parent is not paying the required amounts, or modify an order if circumstances have substantially changed since your existing order was entered. Call us or fill out our “Contact Us” page today to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your situation.
Frequently Asked Child Support Questions in Ambler, PA
The short answer is yes. The law requires parents subject to child support orders to report increases in their income levels. Our attorneys have the experience and resources to help you locate evidence to prove that your child’s other parent has enjoyed an increase in his or her income; we can use that evidence to petition the court to modify your existing child support order. In addition, if your child’s other parent has been concealing an increase in his or her income for a substantial period of time, we can also seek retroactive modification of the child support order, which will require your child’s other parent to make up the difference in child support payments back to the date when their income increased.
Child support obligations are a serious matter; the courts in Pennsylvania and across the county have numerous options available to ensure that your child’s parent satisfies his or her child support obligations. Our attorneys can seek to have your child’s parent’s sources of income garnished — these sources include not only paychecks but also unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, pension payments, and tax refunds. In addition, a court can report a delinquent parent to the credit bureaus, suspend his or her driver’s license, or make a finding of contempt to impose fines and jail time.
