1. Michigan Child Support Attorneys

Michigan Child Support Attorneys

We are highly qualified Attorneys in Michigan and Criminal Defense Lawyers in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb Counties. The attorneys of Goldman & Associates law firm have experience with helping the residents of southeast Michigan in the following areas of child support law, including but not limited to:

  • Child support calculation
  • payment schedule
  • Friend of the court matters
  • support modification / modify child support
  • Financial changes
  • Arrears / Arrearage
  • Felony Child Support

In certain legal matters pertaining to child support, it is necessary for the friend of the court to be involved. In certain cases, our attorneys can handle your friend of the court matters without you being present, allowing you to continue to go on with your day instead of having to lose potential wages or take valuable days off of work.

Our attorneys are skilled legal professionals in the area of child support modification, which generally arises when there is a specific change in either parties income or employment stability. If this is the case, it is important to express your concerns to a legal professional as soon as possible to avoid lengthy courtroom processes. A MI expert from our law firm will work with you to establish a new and improved arrangement to present to a judge in a court of law that is more conducive to your current monetary situation.

Generally, both parents equally share a duty to support their children. In Michigan, courts look at several factors in determining the amount of support to award, including: the parents financial resources; family size; ages of the children; child care and educational expenses; health coverage costs and medical/dental expenses; and other criteria such as adjustments for other support orders, additional familial obligations and the presence of step-children. Often times, parents struggling with a support matter are told that Michigan’s guidelines are specific and absolute, and there is nothing they can do about it.

Although it is true that MI follows guidelines, except in cases where the parents agree to deviate from guidelines, the real work is determining what evidence will be used in calculating income. Has your spouse recently received a buy-out? Does your spouse receive bonus pay? Does your spouse have alternate sources of income? What are the marital assets?

Obtaining adequate child support is critical in supporting the needs of your child. On the other hand, being ordered to pay an amount that you can afford is also critical. Failure to pay can result in the seizure of assets, loss of employment, damage to your reputation and even jail time. Therefore, before you are saddled with an order issued by the court, it is vital that you contact an experienced attorney to ensure that you and your child’s rights are protected. With nearly 30 years of experience, our attorneys have been helping families deal with child support issues. Whether you are faced with paying an amount that you cannot afford or dealing with an uncooperative spouse who refuses to pay what your child deserves, we can help.

Child Support

Child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by one parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship that involved children. Generally, the party obliged to pay is a non-custodial parent, while the party receiving payment is a custodial parent or other caregiver.

Michigan Child Support Law Facts

The Michigan Child Support Formula has been in place since 1986, and is designed to provide adequate child support based upon the needs of children and the ability of both parents. Factors to be considered include parental income, family size, and living arrangements. Income is determined in a variety of ways, and the formula is updated yearly to adjust for changes in the cost of living.

Michigan Child Support and Live Out of State Facts

In Michigan, although child custody and child support are technically separate processes, in practice they are often intimately related. While determinations of child support are often made on the basis of a number of different factors, one important factor is the living arrangements of the child. Because a move out of state involves both custody and a change in living arrangements, it can also affect child support.