Showing posts with label child support. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child support. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2014

What about Child Support?

Indeed, it is difficult for kids to go to and fro on both sides. Seeing your child having split time with you and your former spouse will surely affect him or her. In addition, the financial needs and decision-making responsibilities will shift, and striking a balance between all of these elements can often be a challenge in an emotionally charged divorce.

Child support is both physical and legal in law terms. This refers to the decisions that are made regarding where your child goes to school, to church, and how and where he or she will receive medical care. Typically, child support is joint, but in some cases, the best interests of the children are served by only one parent making the major decisions.

Referrals from friends are important when deciding on lawyers who specialize on child support is a good way to start. When you have narrowed down your decisions, it is time for you to meet the attorney you are considering hiring. You may be working together for several months, and you want to put your full faith and confidence in this attorney. Fortunately, many child support lawyers are willing to meet with their clients and discuss every detail needed for the hearing. This is called the initial consultation; initial consultation is a good time to learn more about your lawyer, it is also a good time to ask as much questions as you can. This interview will give you a much better grip on what your lawyer has to offer.

Practicing law for many years is not the experience you are looking for. It is the right kind of experience. There are a lot of older child support lawyers who are ineffective advocates. Age isn’t the key. The type of experience that best child support lawyers have are knowledge and skills on the law and facts of child support, as well as, knowing how to use each within the case.

Lastly, cases on child support may be expensive and quality family law attorneys manage the fees and costs through the case process depending on the possible outcome. A good attorney would layout goals, a plan and a budget.

Nancy McRoberts Parham P.A
210 N. Pierce St., Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 228-0219

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Divorce and Child Support

Divorce has never been an easy thing. Aside from the emotional turmoil that both sides undergo, the emotional burden becomes larger if there are children caught in between. If you have kids and are planning to divorce your partner, then you must know about child support issues and concerns.

The first thing you need to do is find yourself a good family lawyer in Tampa. Not only will a good family lawyer help you out through the whole divorce process, a good family lawyer will also provide you with legal information and resources regarding child support. The most basic things you need to know is how to get child support, how to make child support payments, how these payments are calculated, how child support is modified, how to enforce child support, and what happens if any of the parties fail to pay the agreed upon child support.

When parents file for a divorce, one of them ultimately becomes the custodial parent of the child. The custodial parent is the one that the child lives with. The court orders the non-custodial parent to give child support to the custodial parent.



Basically, child support is a portion of the income of the non-custodial parent that is used to cover the daily needs of the child. All 50 states in the United States have made child support guidelines based from a lot of factors including parent’s income and ability to pay, the financial needs of the child, as well as the minimum amount of support required to maintain a good standard of living for the child. Child support includes basic needs such as food clothing and shelter, health or medical care, uninsured medical expenses, educational costs such as tuition, miscellaneous, books, etc., child care, transportation and travelling expenses, entertainment, and even extracurricular activities such as summer camps and sports.

If a parent fails to give child support, then the law can penalize him or her by withholding supports from tax refunds and even as far as seizing real estate and personal properties. Other consequences can be garnishing wages, suspending occupational licenses (necessary to practice medicine, teaching, etc.) and business licenses, as well as revoking of driver’s license. Furthermore, if the child support involved is amounting to more than $2,500, then the court may deny issuance of passport and visa. The court may also hold the delinquent parent in contempt of court and issue a jail term.

There are lot of issues concerning child support in Tampa. What if one of the parent moves to another state? What if the non-custodial parent loses his or her job? What if the non-custodial parent encounters an accident? In general, courts in Tampa and the rest of the country is very supportive of child support enforcement. As such, any excuse from the part of the non-custodial parents may not be recognized. However, if the need may arise, the non-custodial parent may ask for petition from the court.

For deeper discussions and clarifications regarding this matter, consult with a family lawyer in Tampa.

Nancy McRoberts Parham P.A
210 N. Pierce St., Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 228-0219

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Marital and Family Law Discussion


The rate of divorce in Florida has been steadily growing since 2009, according to 2010 census reports. Although the rise is slight, the consistency of an increasing trend is still a reality to think about. Finding one’s self in such a situation is unfortunate but since there are things which can’t be helped, knowing the fundamentals of marital and family law in Florida can help you survive through the technicalities of the whole process.

Divorce Law in Tampa, FL

There are 2 major grounds for filing for divorce—(1) psychological incapacity and (2) irreconcilable differences. These are the provisions according to divorce laws in Tampa, FL. Filing for divorce requires several documents along with the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. Having a marital and family law attorney will make the process less difficult since they can file the petition for you. This is especially important for cases of contested divorce hearings.

An uncontested divorce is generally finalized in a shorter span of time; usually around three months. This category of dissolution of marriage means the couple is amicable with all agreed upon arrangements. Pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements help make these proceedings run faster because these documents are considered final by the court and will be attached to the divorce documents during the filing period. An uncontested divorce sometimes means not taking the litigation process to court so divorce attorneys won’t be necessary.

Contested Divorce basically means there is conflict which has yet to be resolved between the petitioner and the respondent. Disagreements usually have to do with division of property, alimony, child custody and support, and child visitation. A family law attorney will conduct an extensive interview to help you with your case, whether you are the petitioner or respondent.

Child Custody and Support

The court will determine child custody based on their assessment of each parent. The judge is guided by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act of Florida to make sure that the final decision is to the child’s or children’s best interest. Mothers usually are granted physical custody especially for very young kids but that is not always the case. In situations where addiction, abuse, or unemployment is involved, the court will be compelled to take the child away from the source of violence or abuse. Fortunately, statistics have shown that joint custody is the dominating trend among divorced families. This means both parents have equal responsibility or the kids.

Alimony or Spousal Support

Tampa, FL courts review alimony and decide on them with proper consideration of both party’s situation. Alimony is not applied all the time. Unemployment, debts, monthly income, and monthly expenditures are factored in during the computation of spousal support. Payments to the other spouse can either be temporary or permanent. Family law attorneys can help file for amendments in case there are issues with the amount settlement.

Nancy McRoberts Parham, P.A
210 N. Pierce St
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 228-0219