Morristown Child Support Lawyer
Child support and spousal support (alimony) payments are used to maintain lifestyles of a household and provide for the needs of the children. Attorney Frank Grather addresses clients' concerns regarding determining these payments. Child support payments are determined by a very strict guideline. Alimony payments are not based upon any specific formula and can become contentious.
If you would like to speak with an experienced lawyer regarding child support, contact Broderick, Newmark & Grather, P.C. to arrange a consultation.
Child Support Guidelines
Child support payments are necessary to provide for the needs of the children. New Jersey's child support guideline calculation is based upon several factors including:
- Income of each parent
- Earning capacity of each parent
- Time child spends with each parent
- Cost of child's education
- Cost of child care
- Whose health insurance plan covers the child
The child support guidelines are based upon the income and assets of each parent in proportion to the needs of the children. Needs include food, clothes, shelter, as well as extracurricular activities, health care, and day care. Alimony can be treated as additional income in calculating child support.
Deviation from Child Support Guidelines
A Court may find that the guidelines are inappropriate in a specific case or do not apply because the combined net family is more than a specified amount. In such cases, a court would calculate a guideline amount and then deviate from the guidelines using specific statutory factors such as:
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Needs of the child;
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Standard of living and economic circumstances of each parent;
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All sources of income and assets of each parent;
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Earning ability of each parent, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, custodial responsibility for children including the cost of providing child care and the length of time and cost of each parent to obtain training or experience for appropriate employment;
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Need and capacity of the child for education, including higher education;
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Age and health of the child and each parent;
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Income, assets, and earning ability of the child;
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Responsibility of the parents for the court-ordered support of others;
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Reasonable debts and liabilities of each child and parent; and
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Any other factors the court may deem relevant.
If you would like to speak with an experienced lawyer regarding child support, contact Frank Grather to arrange a consultation.
