Atlanta Child Support Attorney
The most important thing to recognize and remember when it comes to child support is that it is for the benefit of the child, not the child’s other parent. Also, Georgia law requires both parents to provide adequate support for their minor children, and no parent can waive a child’s right to receive child support. With this understanding, it shouldn’t be surprising the Georgia courts use an objective mathematical guideline to determine how much support a child’s non-custodial parent must pay to the custodial parent. It works to keep the determination of child support payments as predictable and dispassionate as possible. However, while neutrality is the goal when deciding child support, there is some room for legal persuasion when it comes to ordering and enforcing child support orders, and this is where an experienced Atlanta child support attorney is valuable.
Child Support Law in Georgia
In Georgia, any custodial parent or caretaker of a child—which is simply a parent or person with whom a child lives more than half the time—can collect regular child support from a parent who should contribute to the child’s wellbeing. To determine the amount of child support, Georgia uses an “income sharing” approach. This means the amount a parent will have to pay in child support is based on both the mother and father’s joint incomes, minus any deductions. A judge will first determine the gross annual income of both parents and run the numbers through a child support calculator that applies Georgia’s child support guidelines.
While the calculator and the guidelines are central to determining child support in Georgia, a court may increase or decrease child support depending on the individual circumstances of both parents and the best interests of the child. Factors a court may consider include:
- High income of the parents (combined income is $30,000 per month or more)
- Low income of the non-custodial parent (income is $1,850 per month or less)
- Health-related insurance
- Life insurance (one parent is insured, and the policy names the child as beneficiary)
- Child and dependent care tax credit
- Travel expenses
- Alimony
- Mortgage
- Permanency plan or foster care plan
- Extraordinary expenses, such as medical conditions or education expenses
- Actual parenting time
With all these factors that may sway a child support order in one direction or the other, it’s important to take an in-depth look at all the circumstances affecting and surrounding your parent-child relationship and your relationship with your child’s other parent. An experienced child support attorney can help you do this and ensure you have the documentation necessary to back up your child support-related claims.
An Experienced Atlanta Child Support Attorney Is Ready to Help You
If you need legal advice and representation in any child support matter, please contact The Solomon Firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Our experienced Atlanta child support attorney is ready to help you.
