Scottsdale Child Support Lawyer
Compassionate and Straightforward Legal Guidance with Your Best Interests in Mind
Child support is an important practical matter to handle in a divorce negotiation (or, in the case of modifications, even after). Martinez Family Law will dig deep into the facts of your and the other parent’s circumstances to build a strong case for child support in your favor, whether you expect to be the paying parent or supported parent. We will provide you the straightforward legal advice you need to protect your and your child’s best interests.
Schedule a free consultation online or at (480) 571-7736 for more information. Serving Phoenix, Mesa, Peoria, and the surrounding areas.
The Child Support Guidelines
Arizona’s Child Support Guidelines determine which parent pays how much to the other parent to support their children following divorce or separation. Child support amounts are calculated according to a formula that factors in each parent's income and amount of parenting time. Child support also depends on other costs incurred for the child, such as health insurance and childcare costs.
Income can be tricky to quantify when a parent is self-employed, and disputes often arise when a parent's manner of reporting income appears questionable. For example, the parent may be paying personal expenses (food, gasoline, repairs) with business funds, labeling them as business expense tax deductions, and then trying to omit those assets altogether from consideration in child support calculations. Our firm has handled a variety of child support cases and know how to proceed in simple and complex cases such as these. We will help to facilitate the necessary communication between you and the other parent to ensure your child receives the support they deserve.
Factors for Calculating Child Support
The typical “checklist” of information you should expect to prepare to calculate child support includes:
- each parent’s total gross income (wages and salaries, bonuses, commissions, dividends, trust income, worker's compensation benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, recurring gifts);
- attributed income if a parent quits their job in an attempt to avoid paying child support;
- costs you may incur to care for your child if they have special needs;
- any spousal maintenance paid or received;
- court-ordered child support for children from other relationships;
- medical, dental, and vision insurance costs for the child;
- extra education expenses (if applicable);
- parenting time days per year for each parent (if you do not have equal parenting time).
Note that if you need immediate relief in the area of child support, you can seek a temporary order while your permanent case is underway. Contact Martinez Family Law for help.
Parents are allowed to request modifications of an existing order at any time if they show a substantial and continuing change of circumstances, but this type of petition can be burdensome and difficult to win. This is why it is critical to obtain a fair and accurate base established in the beginning, when the first child support order is established.
How Attorney Elizabeth J. Martinez Will Help
To ensure that you receive the child support payments that your child is entitled to — or to avoid paying more than your fair share of child support — you should have a vigilant, experienced attorney on your side. Martinez Family Law caters to parents who want clarity and no-nonsense legal guidance. Attorney Elizabeth J. Martinez will help you present credible evidence and ensure all relevant factors are considered in determining the child support calculation in your and your child’s best interests. She can also help determine, in the rare circumstance, whether a deviation from the Arizona Child Support Guidelines would be appropriate and should be argued to the court.
Call (480) 571-7736 or contact Martinez Family Law online for a free consultation to get started today.
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