Pennsylvania Child Support - Advice Beyond the Guidelines
You may believe that child support is determined by simply applying the Pennsylvania Child Support Guidelines. You plug in each parent's income, the number of children, some additional data and presto, you owe (or receive) a set dollar amount each month. But, in reality, it is not that simple. There is much more to determining the amount of support. It is more subjective and particular to each situation than you may think. In many cases, the amount of support you either pay or receive depends upon the knowledge, skill and experience of your attorney.
At Scaringi & Scaringi, P.C., our attorneys know how child support works in practice. We can therefore look beyond the guidelines to make sure that your child support accurately reflects your true circumstances whether you'll be making or receiving the payments. If you could use legal advice that goes past the mechanical formulas to define your rights or responsibilities, contact our office in Harrisburg or Newport for a free consultation.
Most child support obligations are determined by a conference officer, who will usually apply the guidelines formula in the absence of any more specific information. Our job as your counsel is to make sure that your child support payment reflects the realities of your situation, even if the guidelines won't necessarily accommodate them.
We'll know well in advance of your support conference whether you need to receive payments greater than the guidelines require. Alternatively, you might have good reason to request a monthly obligation significantly less than the guidelines amount. Either way, you can count on our attorneys to present your position to the conference officer in clear terms and with complete documentation.
We can request upward or downward adjustments to the guidelines for any of a number of reasons, including:
- Income of the receiving parent
- Paying parent is self-employed
- Special medical or educational needs of the child
- Concessions on property division issues
- Expected change in the financial circumstances of either parent
Our goal in child support cases is to make sure that you're receiving what you actually need from the other parent to provide for your child's needs, or to work toward a payment obligation that accurately reflects your practical ability to pay in light of your child's needs and other resources. Our lawyers are also ready to help you with the modification or enforcement of child support obligations whenever changed circumstances or unexcused defaults require it.
Call 717-567-0380 or 717-798-3601 for Child Support Advice in Pennsylvania
For more information about our ability to render effective advice and advocacy on child support issues, contact Scaringi & Scaringi, P.C. for a free consultation.
