Safeguarding your ability to provide for your children.
Just as every family is unique, each family faces its own unique challenges when it comes to covering the costs of raising children. When parents divorce, separate, or disagree on the best way to provide for their kids, New Jersey law requires that both parents contribute to a child’s support. In most cases, this involves the use of the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines. However, the Court can deviate from these guidelines under certain circumstances including where a party provides that a guidelines based award is inappropriate under the circumstance of their case.
How Child Support Is Calculated
The Child Support Guidelines are a formula promulgated by the New Jersey Supreme Court to calculate child support for children. The child support schedules created under the guidelines is supposed to represent the average amount that intact families spend on their children for expenses such as housing, food, clothing, transportation, entertainment and unreimbursed medical expenses up to $250 per child per year. This formula takes into consideration both parents’ incomes, tax withholdings, percentage of time the child spends overnight at each home, medical insurance premiums for the child, and employment related daycare.
In cases where the parents’ combined after-tax income exceeds the threshold under the Child Support Guidelines or where support is being calculated for children who are over the age of 18, the New Jersey family court determines child support based upon statutory factors that bear on fairness.
N.J.S.A 2A:34-23 provides:
In determining the amount to be paid by a parent for support of the child and the period during which the duty of support is owed, the court in those cases not governed by court rule shall consider, but not be limited to, the following factors:
- Needs of the child;
- Standard of living and economic circumstances of each parent;
- All sources of income and assets of each parent;
- Earning ability of each parent, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, custodial responsibility for children including the cost of providing childcare and the length of time and cost of each parent to obtain training or experience for appropriate employment;
- Need and capacity of the child for education, including higher education;
- Age and health of the child and each parent;
- Income, assets and earning ability of the child;
- Responsibility of the parents for the court-ordered support of others;
- Reasonable debts and liabilities of each child and parent; and
- Any other factors the court may deem relevant.
Post-Divorce Modification and Enforcement
In New Jersey, the standard for child support modification and recalculation is based on a change in circumstances. A party seeking to modify a child support obligation must meet the threshold standard of changed circumstances, which include changes in the needs of the child or the income of a parent. A party seeking to modify child support, may seek to negotiate that modification with the other party or to file an application with the Court. Our office regularly represents parents in post-judgment modification proceedings. Equally important are situations in which child support is not being paid and a party must seek to obtain the payment of child support or a party’s share of expenses for a child.
Experienced family law attorney, Georgia Fraser, Esq. regularly represents parents in post-judgment modification and enforcement proceedings in both seeking modification and enforcement and defending clients against modification applications.
Over 25 Years of Experience Assisting Clients with Child Support Issues
Fraser Family Law Office and experienced family law attorney, Georgia Fraser, Esq. helps families work through the confusion and frustration that can accompany child support matters to identify practical, simple financial solutions. This can include participating in mediation or other alternative dispute resolution vehicles to achieve beneficial settlement of child support issues or through knowledgeable and experienced advocacy in Court.
At the center of all the questions are your children. Our first priority is safeguarding their future, and, through mediation or, if necessary, litigation, we will help you at a resolution that makes that possible.
To discuss your child support issue with us, connect with us online or contact our office at 609-223-2099 to set up a consultation with family law attorney Georgia Fraser, Esq.
Serving all of Central New Jersey: Mercer County (including Princeton, West Windsor, East Windsor, Lawrenceville, Hamilton Township, Trenton, Robbinsville, Hopewell Township, Pennington, and Hightstown), Somerset County, Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Burlington County, Monmouth County and Ocean County.
We Assist clients with:
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Support between non-married individuals
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Settlement negotiation
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Alternative dispute resolution
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Child emancipation
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Interstate child support disputes (UIFSA)
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Post-judgement modifications