If you’re going through a divorce, you’re dealing with challenging legal matters, including determining how much child support you must pay or receive. Pursuing a child support order that suits your financial situation and meets your child’s needs is difficult unless you have a committed legal representative on your side.
The Virginia Beach family lawyers at Melone Hatley, P.C., have over 50 years of combined experience handling divorce cases and negotiating favorable child support orders. You can count on our award-winning, experienced family law attorneys to draw on their in-depth experience to achieve the results your family needs to thrive.
A Virginia Beach Attorney Will Calculate Your Child Support
When determining the child support amount you will pay or receive, correct calculations are necessary. For example, if you’re responsible for court-ordered payments, it’s essential to avoid overpaying, as excessive amounts could significantly impact your financial future.
Conversely, if you’re receiving child support, it’s critical to ensure the amount is sufficient so that your child gets the support needed. Inadequate support could compromise your ability to care for your children, impacting their education, well-being, and access to necessities.
Our dedicated family law attorneys will ensure Virginia child support guidelines are followed so you get a fair and accurate determination, safeguarding your financial stability and your children’s welfare. Here’s what our team of attorneys will do to ensure your child support is calculated right the first time:
Account for the Incomes of Both Parents
When determining the child support you’ll pay or receive, accounting for both parents’ incomes is the first step to making a correct calculation. Once a petition for child support has been filed, you’ll submit a financial affidavit to the court. This document will contain detailed information about your income.
An attorney will ensure your affidavit is completed correctly and filed on time. Once income-related information from both parties has been collected, our team will use it to calculate how much child support you must receive or pay.
Calculate the Percentage of Responsibility
Once our attorneys have determined your combined income, they’ll use it to calculate the paying parent’s percentage of financial responsibility. To do so, they’ll take the paying parent’s net income and divide it by the combined monthly income. Then, they’ll take that number and multiply it by 100.
For instance, if your monthly income is $3,000 and your combined monthly income is $6,000, your percentage of financial responsibility will be 50%. This proportion is used to calculate how much you owe on certain expenses, such as unreimbursed medical expenses for your child.
Determine Monthly Child Support Obligations
After determining each parent’s financial responsibility, a child support attorney in Virginia Beach will adjust the support amount using a guidelines worksheet, considering how much time your children spend with each parent.
In addition to accounting for the amount of time your children spend with each parent, our team will also include child care and child health care expenses paid by each parent. Once we’ve completed these steps, you’ll have a clear understanding of how much child support you must receive or pay.
Other Ways Our Virginia Beach Child Support Attorneys Can Facilitate Your Case
While calculating financial obligations is a big part of a child support case, there are also a number of other steps to take when managing these legal matters. The good news is that our highly experienced team is closely familiar with every step of the child support negotiation process.
Here’s what our skilled law firm will do to ensure you get a result that preserves your financial stability and serves your children’s best interests:
- Gather important evidence and documentation
- Represent you during mediation sessions
- Negotiate a child support order that meets your needs
- Advocate on your and your children’s behalf in court
- File an appeal if you disagree with the court’s decision
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Our Highly Reviewed Family Law Firm Is the Right Choice for Your Child Support Case
When you go through a divorce and need to ensure a fair child support order is put in place, you need an experienced attorney who understands the legal obstacles you’re facing. A Virginia Beach child support lawyer, at Melone Hatley, P.C., here to protect your family, your finances, and your future.
Please review our past client testimonials to see how we truly care about getting favorable outcomes for you and your children. You are not alone. We will be by your side throughout this challenging time.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Child Support Attorney in Virginia Beach
When you’re facing child support negotiations, you must take every measure you can to ensure the process goes smoothly. After all, the outcome will have a significant impact on you and your children’s future. To ensure the right agreement is reached, you’ll want to work with a highly experienced team of attorneys.
At Melone Hatley, P.C., we have what it takes to get the results you and your children deserve. We’ll offer compassionate legal support and aggressive representation to ensure your case goes as smoothly as possible. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a Virginia Beach child support lawyer and learn more about your legal options.