Attorney Supervised - Document Preparation

 Do all your own paper work, but have a trusted attorney appear at your Court hearing.

Single Court Appearance

$300.00 per hour

We will prepare at hearings for:

• Child Custody & Visitation
• Child Support
• Spousal Support
• Modification of Orders
• Domestic Violence

 As parents, you and your spouse or partner (or ex-spouse/partner) are required by state law to financially support your children until they turn 18 years old or graduate from high school (whichever comes later).  Depending on your child custody arrangement or parenting plan, one parent may also be responsible for providing child support payments to the other.

Determining Child Support

To decide which parent (if either) should pay child support and how much, the court examines a number of factors, including the following:

• The child's age, physical and emotional health status and health needs
• The child's educational needs
• Each parent's financial resources
• Each parent's contributions toward the child's welfare
• The number of children for whom each parent is responsible
• The amount (number of days) of visitation the Non-Custodial Parent receives
• Any other pertinent factors

  In more than a decade providing child support attorney services, we've helped countless clients obtain child support payments that were overdue or partial and ensured that future payments arrived on time and in full. It is often necessary to involve state or federal courts to force the nonpaying parent to comply with support orders. The courts can do this in the following ways:

• Garnishing wages
• Intercepting federal tax refunds
• Revoking a driver's license
• Reporting child support debt to credit collection agencies
• Seizing assets
• Placing liens against property

  A child's best interests are central to any custody decision, but those needs and interests—and a parent's ability to meet them—may change over time. Generally, either parent can ask a judge to modify custody if circumstances have changed enough to justify altering parenting arrangements.  

Some Common Reasons for Seeking a Change of Custody Include:

· The non-custodial parent’s work schedule changed

· The non-custodial parent moved closer to the other parent

· Child’s preference-the child desired to live with or spend more time with the non-custodial parent

· One parent is being an irresponsible parent-not getting child to school on time or doing poorly in school, substance abuse issues, etc.

· A parent seeks relocation outside of the geographic area where the child has resided, called a “move away case”

Child’s Academic, Emotional, or Physical Needs

Major changes to a child’s school performance or emotional or physical health can justify a custody change. For example, a child’s failing grades or frequent hospitalizations for untreated illnesses may be enough to award a noncustodial parent sole physical custody. Perhaps one parent has better access to top medical care for a child recently diagnosed with cancer. Or one parent may live in a school district that can better support a child’s dyslexia and associated academic struggles. While a poor grade in one academic subject or recurrent ear infections won’t justify a change in custody, if a child’s overall well-being deteriorates, it may warrant a custody change.