Child Support / Custody

In or after a divorce, the most important issues center around children: Who has physical custody of the child? Who makes the primary life decisions for the child? Who pays the tab and how? For good reason these issues are and should be subject to aggressive litigation. They are issues worthy of serious inquiry and attention.

Custody: Physical and legal custody of a child creates sensitive, serious and complex issues. At the end, Courts and parents should and hopefully will focus on the child's best interests, not the parents.' But that is little more than a hollow slogan if you do not have an attorney who will aggressively and diligently prepare the case to get the question properly answered. Once the custody question is answered, we still must address the complicated decisions about a sustainable financing framework for the best interest of the child. This is what is known as child support.

Child Support: Significant changes in the child support guidelines have removed us from the relatively simple sliding scale of the non-custodial parent's income, into a complicated approach that starts with a worksheet. We try to determine each parent's gross income, and then track down and document various debits, credits, and deviations to reach an equitable (and hopefully sustainable) support figure. In theory, child support should take into account the resources available to and expended by the parents. In practice, these issues are hotly debated. What is a person's real income? How do you find it? Prove it? Who is spending what on the child? Which deviations do or should apply? After all of this might be done, changes in circumstances thereafter will often justify a fresh look at it again in what is known as child support modification.

We can discuss your options with you and will litigate aggressively, but with common sense, for you in these matters. Ultimately, all domestic matters are considered on a case-by-case basis within a framework allowing for broad judicial discretion. We thank you for considering how we might assist you and your family with these issues.