Child Support in Georgia
Experienced Georgia Divorce & Family Law Attorneys
As with Georgia child custody, Georgia child
support is often the subject of considerable dispute during a divorce.
Interestingly, under Georgia's child support
laws allow for a wide array of possibilities, including holding both parents
(regardless of gender), or only parent (again regardless of gender) responsible
for paying Georgia child support until a child is 20 years old, dies, graduates from high school, marries, is emancipated, or joins the military.
Generally speaking, the non-custodial parent in a divorce is often required to pay
GA child support to the custodial parent for
the child's living expenses. The amount and duration of the child support
obligation will vary widely from family to family, and will depend on circumstances include
the gross income of each parent, the potential income of each parent, the cost
of health insurance and medical expenses, school expenses, food and general
living expenses, and more. When dealing with a child support case in Georgia, we
suggest that with so much at stake it is a critical time to have an experienced
Atlanta child support attorney on your side to protect your interests and
the interests of your children under Georgia law.
The New Georgia Child Support Laws
On
January 1, 2007, the laws governing child support in Georgia changed. The new law is based on an "income shares" model which requires looking at the gross income of both the husband and the wife. "Gross income" is defined broadly and includes salary, commissions, self-employment income, bonuses, overtime, severance pay, pension income
(if it is recurring), interest income, dividend income, trust income, capital gains, gifts, prizes, lottery winnings, and income from a variety of other sources. After the gross income of both the husband and wife is determined, both gross incomes are added together which results in what is called the "combined adjusted income" amount.
After this is establish, a "Georgia Child Support Obligation Table" is
utilized to retrieve a "Basic Child Support Obligation," which is then applied to each parent's proportionate share of the combined adjusted income.
Confusing? Indeed the new Georgia child support guidelines can be
complex, and we recommend seeking the advice of one of our child custody
lawyers in Georgia to help you better understand how the new child support
laws will affect you.
Georgia Child Support Modifications
It is important to note that child support payments in Georgia may be modified if there has been a material change in circumstances from when the original child support order was issued. Oftentimes, the loss of a job, changes in the cost of medical insurance, or a wide variety of other factors would allow our Atlanta family law attorneys to petition the court for a change of child support on your behalf.
Getting Started
If you are dealing with a GA divorce or GA child support issue, we advise you to speak with one of our Atlanta divorce and child support lawyers sooner rather than later. The process can be intense and sometimes intimidating, and the help of an experienced attorney will be invaluable in helping you protect your interests and the interests of your children. For a typical divorce or child support matter, our law firm retainer begins at $2,500.00. To talk with one of our family law attorneys about representing you, either fill out the brief form to your left or give us a call. For additional contact information and driving directions to our firm please visit our Contact Page. Thank you and we look forward to working with you.