Hiring a child support lawyer to assist you with your divorce, child support and custody, and other family law issues has significant benefits.
Even in uncontested divorces, when spouses can collaborate on most issues, finding an agreeable resolution for child custody and support agreements that match both parties’ visions of co-parenting responsibilities can be challenging. A child support lawyer can help ensure that the children’s needs are kept at the forefront of the discussion when the parents disagree and that all of the income and resources are considered when determining child support.
The State of Tennessee considers child support to be the responsibility of both parents. The court determines the child support each party is responsible for based on verified parental income. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of hiring a child support lawyer.
Top Benefits To Hire A Child Support Lawyer
Changes in circumstances, new relationships, and job changes in new marriages can complicate child support payments and calculations.
#1. Your Lawyer Will Protect Your Rights And Best Interests
You and your children deserve to have a lawyer to protect your rights. If you are going through a custody battle, divorce, or having challenges with a former spouse, a family law attorney will help protect your rights. Your lawyer will be able to translate the complex laws and legal requirements to you, ensure that your spouse and co-parent stay within the legal parameters, and create a fair and equitable agreement.
#2. Your Lawyer Will Understand How To Negotiate Effectively
Hiring a child support lawyer with excellent negotiation skills can be the difference between receiving a fair amount of child support and getting the short end of the stick. Your lawyer’s job is to develop a fair and balanced resolution and a child support agreement that places your child’s interest first while holding both parents accountable and ensuring they provide for their children.
#3. Your Lawyer Will Understand The Laws About Child Support and Child Custody
The outcome of your divorce, child custody, and child support case can have a massive impact on your life and the future of your children’s life. Laws about child custody can change based on a single porch decision, which can set a new precedent for how state regulations and statutes are interpreted. States can pass amendments that can alter various procedures and factors.
The court is allowed some discretion when determining what should count towards income when calculating child support. Hiring a child support lawyer who can speak on your behalf about what is fair and what isn’t can make the difference in what you pay or receive in child support.
#4. Your Lawyer Will Ensure Your Child Receives What Is Needed and Fair
The primary purpose of the child support agreement is to ensure that the best interests of the child or children are met. Your child support lawyer can ensure that the court considers any changing or particular circumstances, such as transferring to a new school, needing special education or tutoring services, increases in the cost of living, or maintaining a lifestyle the child is accustomed to.
#5. Your Lawyer Can Investigate To Ensure A Fair Child Support Agreement
Unfortunately, not everyone is honest about their income regarding child support proceedings. Suppose you are suspicious that your ex-spouse is hiding income so they are not held accountable for child support costs and payments. In that case, your lawyer can investigate and utilize legal resources to determine an accurate record of their income.
A child support lawyer understands how to request that the court compel people to disclose their income sources and consider financial changes and support they may benefit from regarding income-generating investments, remarriages, and employment sources. Other contributing factors include debt and taxes when calculating how much each parent is responsible for contributing towards caring for the child or children.
#6. Your Lawyer Can Monitor and Ensure Legal Compliance
The family court system requires that specific deadlines be met and that documentation is complete and accurate. It can significantly impact you and your children if you miss a deadline, have missing signatures, miscalculations, incorrect information, or information submitted in the wrong format.
#7. Your Lawyer Will Have Relationships With Local Judges and Courts
Every county court system can have different procedures and even some discretion on how things are done. A local child support lawyer will have established relationships with local judges because they will have a history of appearing before them. When you hire an experienced, reputable lawyer to represent you, you can be at peace knowing that your best interests are being represented so that you will have the best possible outcome for your child support case.
#8. Your Lawyer Can Ensure Your Child’s Future Is Included In Your Child Support Agreement
As your children grow up, they may want to pursue secondary or college education. A lawyer can ensure your child’s future education needs are included in your child support agreement before the issue arises or the agreement ends.
#9. Your Lawyer Can Ensure Both Parents Follow The Child Support Agreement
As life evolves for you and your ex-spouse, circumstances will also change, including things like selling off assets, unemployment, remarriage, job changes, seeking child custody modifications, and other challenges. All of these can affect a parent’s ability to pay and change the amount they can pay. Unfortunately, sometimes, parents fail to pay their fair share.
When a child support payment is expected and does not arrive, it can impact the child’s quality of life. Under these circumstances, you may need to ask the courts for help to enforce your existing child support agreement.
These proceedings can be challenging, and the parent failing to pay will most likely argue that they should not have to and present new facts that they hope will absolve their responsibility to pay. The child support attorney can ensure that these proceedings stay focused on compliance with your existing child support agreement.
#10. Hiring A Child Support Lawyer Will Give You Peace of Mind
One of the most significant benefits is that hiring an experienced child support attorney will give you great peace of mind and ensure that all these issues are cared for and dealt with appropriately.
For An Child Support Attorney With Experience, Dedication, And Integrity, Hire Attorney Hunter Fowler
Suppose you need help with a child support case. Attorney Hunter Fowler is a Murfreesboro divorce attorney with extensive experience providing legal representation for people going through divorce, child custody and child support cases, and other legal matters.
Hunter specializes in family law, helping to create solutions for child support and parenting plans and negotiating resolutions that work for you and your family.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation.