Child Support and Custody

Child Support
Every state has its own method for calculating child support. The Georgia state legislature has enacted a method that is one of the most complicated of any state.

Basic Information Needed To Calculate Child Support:

  • Each parent’s gross monthly income
  • The cost of health insurance for the children
  • The cost of daycare for each child

This information is entered into our Child Support Calculator, and this gives us what we call the “Presumptive” amount of child support. Once we have calculated the “presumptive” amount of child support, we determine whether “deviations” from the amount are appropriate.

Common Deviations:

Consulting1. Deviations for Increase in child support:
– cost of private school
– tutoring
– extracurricular activities
2. Deviations for Decrease in child support:
– cost of travel for visitation

Deviations are highly individual; this is where you really need a lawyer who will argue passionately for your cause. If you have any questions or would like an appointment please contact us for a consultation.

Custody
Legal Custody
A party who has “legal” custody of a child has the right to have some input into major decisions such as:

  • child’s health
  • education
  • religion
  • extracurricular activities
  • right to obtain medical and school records

Physical Custody
A party who has “physical” custody has the child in his or her physical care and control.

Consult_familyThe most common custody arrangement for most families is joint legal custody with one parent having primary physical custody and the other parent having secondary physical custody. There are, of course, many other possible custody arrangements, including joint physical custody.

In every divorce action where children are involved, the parents (or, in some cases, the Judge) must fill out a PARENTING PLAN. This is a multi-page form, often done as a type of questionnaire, that provides details about which parent (or other custodian) is caring for the child at all times, who is making major decisions, how the child is transferred between custodians, and many other points of consideration regarding custody and visitation.
Please click here to view our Parenting Plan form. If you have any questions, or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact us.