DON’T CALCULATE SUPPORT WITHOUT CONSULTING AN ATTORNEY

by Jay B. Lieberson, Bucks County Family Law Attorney

I hear it over and over again:

“We calculated support online – support is just based on guidelines anyway – why pay for a lawyer?”.

This is an oversimplistic approach and frequently results in excessively high (or low) support orders.

For one thing, how did you calculate income?
Is there a party who is underemployed and earning less than their actual earning capacity?
Did you include (or even know about) other sources of income from side jobs, cash jobs, or even work done in exchange for services received?
How were overtime and bonuses treated?

How did you calculate net income?
What if one party overwithheld taxes, which makes their net pay appear less?
What deductions from the gross pay can be backed out for determining net pay?
Did you adjust for the difference between biweekly and semimonthly pays?

Did you adjust the amount to reflect that one party is paying for health insurance?
What adjustment should be made if other people besides the child or children are covered by the insurance?
Do you understand how to calculate the percentage sharing of unreimbursed medical expenses?
What about orthodonture work, cosmetic work, psychological and counseling expenses?
Do you know how to document and submit unreimbursed medical claims to the other party?

Did you include a split of necessary child care?
What if child care is provided by family or is paid by cash?
At what age is child care considered unnecessary?
Did you factor in that the person paying it will receive a child care tax credit?

Should you insist on payment through the Court?
By wage attachment?
When does support end and do you need to do something to make that happen?

These are just a small sample of the questions you should be asking.  Unless you know all the answers, you need to consult with counsel, or you will be paying or receiving the wrong amount.