Child Support

If you want to understand child support, you need to take a long-term perspective. Because child support is often paid for a decade or more, many of our clients require the amount of child support to be modified upward or downward. Several factors go into determining how much child support must be paid. The most important factors are the relative incomes of the parents and the amount of time spent with the children. A change in either one of these factors may justify modifying the child support award.

We have represented countless parents who have sought to establish or modify child support payments. This can be a complex calculation, but one thing is clear—don’t modify the support amount unilaterally (i.e., without a court order). Thus, for example, if you experience a reduction of income and decide to pay a smaller support payment, you run the risk that a court will determine that you violated your obligation. In that circumstance, you may be required to pay the difference between what you paid and what you were obligated to pay, plus a ten percent penalty. It is therefore important that changes in child support payments be approved in advance by the court.

If you have any questions about obtaining or modifying child support payments (either upward or downward), please contact Evan T. Sussman at evan@sussmanlawfirm.com or call us at 310.288.1990.