Scottsdale Child Support

The state of Arizona takes the proper care of children seriously. When a couple is going through a divorce, or when parents are no longer raising a child together, the courts in Scottsdale and elsewhere in the state want to make sure the children have the financial care they require. This means that one of the parents will end up paying child support. The money from the support is to help the other parent with the day-to-day expenses of raising a child.

When the question of child support comes up, the parents want to know who will be paying and how much they will pay. Contrary to what some may believe, it is not always the father that has to pay child support. It will depend on the finances of those in question. Quite often, though, it is the father who will be paying support because the mother may have spent time focusing on the children rather than a career.

How Do They Calculate Child Support in Arizona?

The Arizona Child Support Guidelines use a shared income model, which looks at how much money each of the parents is making. The guidelines are meant to ensure that the kids have the same level of support that they would’ve had if their parents were still living together and raising them. The goal is to ensure the children don’t see a difference in the level of care they had when they were with both parents.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the kids aren’t going to be dealing with some feelings of trauma and loss during the divorce and after. Financially, though, the courts want to make sure everything is as stable as possible for them.

The child support will generally be paid to the custodial parent by the noncustodial parent. Since the children will often spend more time with the custodial parent, even though the visitation might be about equal, the custodial parent will need support for the kids.

What’s the overall amount that will be paid? This is going to vary from one case to the next. It will depend on a range of factors including the incomes, types of expenses incurred, etc. This information will be plugged into the calculator to determine how much is owed.

You can talk with an attorney who can help you to get a better understanding of how much you will either have to pay or receive depending on the situation. They can use the same calculations as the court to arrive at a comparable number.

Paying the Child Support

If you are the one who has to pay the support, you are likely wondering how that money will go to your kids. Typically, the Scottsdale court is going to create an income withholding order that will go to your place of employment. The employer will then withhold the child support from your check and will instead send it to the Child Support Clearinghouse. A check is then mailed to the other parent.

The money will generally come out in equal installments. If you are paid weekly and you owe $1,000 in support each month, you will have to pay $250 each week. If you are paid twice a month, you would have $500 taken out of each check.

Although this is a common way that child support works, there are other options. for example, some parents may agree to make direct payments to the other party. This can work well in those cases where one parent is self-employed, for example. As long as the parents are capable of being honest with one another and they communicate well, this could be a viable solution. However, it may not work well for everyone.

One of the other common questions that get asked regarding child support is how long it lasts. Generally, the court will determine the termination date, which is often the last day of the month of the child’s 18^th birthday. In some cases, if the court feels the child won’t graduate when they are 18, they could extend the length of child support to their 19^th birthday.

Of course, if you have a child who has severe disabilities, either mentally or physically, then the order could last for a lot longer. You will want to talk with your attorney to get a better sense of how long you will have to pay. Of course, parents who have kids who have these conditions and issues will likely want to keep paying to ensure the care and safety of their children.

What If They Don’t Pay?

The courts in Scottsdale do not like when someone doesn’t pay their child support. Failure to pay can result in some serious consequences, including jail time in some cases. Of course, most of us have been through a job loss at least once in our life or have had an accident that makes it more difficult to work. Even when your income changes, though, you can’t simply stop paying. You need to follow the right procedures. In this case, this means requesting modification to the support.

Parents can request a modification when circumstances in their life have changed by more than 15% in either direction. You need to go through the proper steps. You can’t just decide not to pay for a couple of months.

If someone doesn’t pay the child support that’s supposed to come to you, and this happens regularly without the payments ever being made, you will want to speak with your attorney. They can send a letter informing your ex of the consequences of their actions, and if they still don’t pay, you can take them to court.

Regardless, if you are going through a family law problem with child support, you don’t want to try to handle things on your own. Instead, you should make it a point to get in touch with the professionals at Modern Law. Visit the offices in Scottsdale at 8707 E. Vista Bonita Dr. Suite 155 or call (480) 571-0346