Rebecca Green Thomason – Attorney at Law
Part of this past week has been filled with Child Support Court. It’s a mixture of people who attend these procedures… attorneys, divorced couples, guardians, grandparents, foster parents, parents, and their babies.
It’s often noisy in there… Tempers can flare. In one case a mother was told by the Judge that she was going to have to provide money to an ex mother-in-law for the support of her two children. At that, she informed the Judge that she was not going to give that (censored) woman a dime. That was a poor decision on the mother’s part…
A while later, a man told the judge he had bills to pay and his friends didn’t pay that kind of child support and he shouldn’t have to either. Another poor decision…
A teen who was also present told an attorney to shut his mouth. However, he did not use very nice words. (See my above comments…)
An attorney charged with procuring support for children of several different sets of parents suggested that the Judge put every parent in jail that was behind on child support. His continually chanted, “Put ’em in jail!” whenever he appeared before the judge.
None of my clients went to jail this week! I love my job… (way better than Duck Dynasty). Still, most of the people who are forced to appear in court are not having a good time. They do not understand what is going on and they are displeased with everyone involved.
In Alabama every single child is morally and legally entitled to receive support from both parents. This is true no matter how much the parents may hate each other or how much they may hate their other relatives.
It’s not uncommon that two neighbors may be paying support for an equal number of children, and yet one pays drastically more than the other. That folks, is only one of the vagaries of our court system!
So how does the court determine what the child support amount is going to be? There are a number of factors that come into play, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer.
The court considers several factors when calculating support for children. First the court looks at the income and needs of the parent who has custody of the child. Second the income and ability to pay of the parent who will be expected to pay support is considered. Then the financial needs of the child are evaluated. This includes but is not limited to: education, insurance, day care and any special needs the child may have.
The court doesn’t consider the amount of other bills that the parent has to pay. Actually the court doesn’t even require the parents to have a job before child support is determined. If a person has the ability to work then they can be required to pay support. The amount of support calculated is based on the parent’s ability to earn. If there appears to be no ability to earn then the support is based on an income of minimum wage.
No one should go into any court without an attorney. This includes child support court. An attorney can ensure that the support to be paid is in accordance with the State’s guidelines. Also, not paying child support can land a parent in jail. Before child support is set seek an attorney. Be certain to consult with a lawyer if you find that you are falling behind on required child support payments.
2 comments
Lawyer just keep getting richer and courts does nothing to dead beat Dads.
I know two dead beat Fathers to my grandchildren. They owe thousands of dollars and nothing is done. One filed for disability and the court let him walk until he hears from it. Well before he filed he wasn’t paying either. If they lived with him, he would have to support them! He should be in jail. The other one they are just letting him live his life and not serving him his papers or anything. Something needs to change so these children don’t suffer!!!!