Baxley Maniscalco Attorneys At Law
If you are considering a divorce in Alabama with children involved or are involved in a paternity case, child support is probably already an issue. The state of Alabama recognizes that both parents, whether married or not, have a legal obligation to support their children.
Fortunately, the rules are specific about who has to pay and how much. Unfortunately, the calculations can become complicated and confusing.
Alabama bases child support payments on the concept that a child should receive the same ratio of support from each parent that they would have been given had the parent’s relationship remained intact. In theory, an “unbroken” family will pool their income for the benefit of the entire household, including the children.
Alabama's method calculates the total amount that an intact family would spend supporting their children and then splits that up proportionately according to each parent’s individual income. The result leaves the parent with a larger income paying a greater percentage of support and the parent with a lesser income assigned a smaller amount.
A judge may also consider any costs in the children's transportation for visitation, extracurricular expenses, special medical needs, or any other relevant factor in determining an award of child support.
How to Estimate Child Support on Your Own
Calculate the monthly gross (pre-tax) income of the parties.
Add those two amounts together.
Calculate each parent's percentage share of the income using those monthly amounts.
Use this table to determine the basic child support obligation using step two's total combined gross income.
Use the number from Step 4 and add to it all work-related childcare costs for the month.
Take the number from Step 5 and add healthcare coverage costs (only use the portion attributable to the children).
Use the percentage from Step 3 to calculate each person's child support obligation.
If the parent who is obligated to pay child support to the other parent pays for health insurance, deduct that amount from the child support obligation amount. (if the custodial parent pays for the child support, take no further steps)
This final number is the amount of child support the non-custodial parent must pay the other parent for child support.
Child Support Contempt
If a parent fails to meet his or her child support obligation as ordered, the Court may impose a fine or even jail time for the contempt.
Our child support attorneys have experience handling contempt cases for parents needing support, as well as defending contempt cases to keep our clients out of jail. If you need assistance, please call us today.
Child Support Modification
Under Alabama law, a child support award may be modified if a change in the parent's income causes that award to change by 10% in either direction.
Point of Caution: Judges frown upon a parent being willfully unemployed and will not decrease child support if they are convinced that you are able to work and are choosing not to. If you are laid off from work and unable to find a job with a similar pay rate as your previous position, be prepared to show the court that you are making reasonable efforts in securing similar employment by keeping track of job applications or other documentation.
If you are a custodial parent seeking to increase child support, you will need to ascertain as much proof as possible that the other parent is regularly working an increased amount of hours, received a promotion at work, or started at a higher paying job.
Another Point of Caution: Be aware, child support modification is a two-way street, and once you file for a modification, the court can look into your income as well to determine a fair monthly amount of child support. It is important to seek legal assistance to make sure that your child support increases rather than decreases. In our practice, we have encountered a handful of parents who have tried to modify child support on their own and end up ultimately shooting themselves in the foot when the numbers are crunched.
In order to modify an existing child support order, the parent seeking the modification must file a Petition in the same court where the original child support award was ordered. There is a filing fee associated with that petition that varies from county to county throughout the state.
Reasons to Hire a Child Support Lawyer
A lawyer knows how to ensure that all forms of income are included in child support calculation. The Guidelines call for all forms of income to be counted in the determination of child support.
In divorce and child custody cases, the parties engage in discovery, which involves written questions and requests for documents from the other parent. We are very experienced in using the discovery process to uncover additional sources of income for our clients.
We routinely check our banking and tax records to get successful results for our clients. This means that the income is not limited to taxable income.
Some forms of income that are commonly overlooked in child support calculation are as follows:
- Social Security Disability Benefits;
- Veterans Disability Benefits;
- Overtime Wages;
- Income from Stock Dividends;
- Rental Property Income;
- Bonuses; and
- Pre-existing Periodic Alimony.
Even if you are the parent who is obligated to pay child support, it is very important that all of the other parent's income is calculated in order to decrease your percentage share of the child support obligation.
A child support order is a long-term financial obligation that you cannot afford to miscalculate. Going it alone may seem like the best way to save money in the short term, but it can have huge costs to you and your children in the long run.
Do the work upfront to protect your legal rights and your financial future.
We Welcome Your Call
Alyssa Enzor Baxley and Adam Maniscalco are both Alabama DHR Child Support Enforcement Attorneys and have years of accumulated knowledge on the inner workings of child support.
They both have plenty of experience in getting great results for their clients.
If you have questions about your particular situation, don't hesitate to call or text us at 256-770-7232.