Child Support Attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
As a child support attorney in Pittsburgh, Kim A. Bodnar works with parents that need to establish child support payments, get them reduced, or need help collecting them. This can be challenging and working with a lawyer can help you to establish a child custody situation that is fair and equitable. If you need help call for your consultation.
Establishing Child Support During Your Divorce
When getting a divorce, your child custody arrangement and child support agreement will be established. The judge will typically make a determination of who gets custody or how custody will be shared based on what they believe is in the best interest of the children. In Pennsylvania, this is typically done after listening to witness testimony and reviewing the evidence.
Once the court has determined how much time the children will spend with each parent, they will determine who has to pay child support and in what amount. This is done after reviewing the income of each parent. If you dispute how much your ex says that they make, you should provide evidence during your divorce trial for why they actually earn more money. This must be done before the judge makes a ruling. Otherwise, the judge will use the amount of income that they have provided. Finding the right evidence can be difficult, and Kim A. Bodnar can provide guidance for how to do so.
If you live in the 15219, are going through a divorce, and have children, call Kim A. Bodnar, Attorney at Law to make sure that your rights are protected from the very beginning. It is far easier to have a positive outcome when you are represented by someone that is experienced in family law. If you try to represent yourself, there is a high likelihood of you being taken advantage of.
Adjusting Child Support
If your life circumstances have changed, you need a child support attorney that can help to get an adjustment to your child support obligation. In Pittsburgh PA when two people divorce, a judge tries to set a custody and support arrangement that they feel will last for years. This is excellent in theory but not practical. Life can go in an unplanned direction, and when it does, people have to adjust, including custody and child support agreements. This can happen if one parent loses their job, goes back to school, has additional children, and more. When life changes, you can request that your support agreement change as well.
In Pennsylvania, if you want to make a change to how much money you pay every month, or if you want to request more child support, you need to schedule a hearing and go before a judge. At Kim A. Bodnar, Attorney at Law, I can do this for you, and Kim A. Bodnar will go to court and make a case for why your request should be granted. You will need to work with your child support lawyer to gather the evidence necessary for proving why your situation has changed. This could be proof of your unemployment and the number of your unemployment checks, proof that another child was born via a birth certificate, proof that your ex got a new and better paying job, etc.
Kim A. Bodnar also helps people living in the 15219 area to adjust their child support arrangement if the children have increased needs. This is common when a child develops a medical condition and requires additional support via schooling, tutors, rehabilitation, etc. If one parent doesn’t want to pay for the new expenses, going to court is typically the only way to resolve it. In these cases, an attorney needs to prove that the child does indeed need these support services and how they will benefit them. Doctors’ notes and expert testimony may be necessary to confirm these claims.
Threats
If your ex is threatening you by saying if you attempt to change your child support they will take away the kids – don’t fall for it. This is a common scare tactic that people use to try and gain or keep control of the situation. At Kim A. Bodnar, Attorney at Law, I have worked with many clients that say they are concerned about what will happen based on threats that have been made by their ex. In Pittsburgh, PA, I have a court system for a reason. Neither parent is allowed to prevent the other from seeing the children on the court-appointed schedule. It doesn’t matter how mad one parent gets at the other. Once the court has established a custody and visitation schedule, the other parent is not allowed to change it without permission of the court. They would need to schedule a court date and prove to the court why you are unfit to see the children. Typically the court will not take their word for it but require evidence and as a child support attorney, I can prove that the accusations are unfounded.
Don’t allow the threats of your ex to influence what you do. Instead, work with an experienced custody lawyer that can help to protect your rights and that of your children. If you are currently being threatened, call and schedule a consultation.
Failure to Pay
If you or your ex has failed to pay child support there can be legal consequences. As a child support attorney, Kim A. Bodnar works with clients that are in trouble for failing to pay support and with those that are trying to collect it. Regardless of which side you are on, I can help.
In situations where someone has failed to pay their support obligation, the court has the authority to garnish their wages. In order to do so, a hearing must take place, and the other party has the right to defend themselves. A defense can be made by showing that there were financial reasons that the support was not paid as agreed and that those reasons were unavoidable. If you think that you will be unable to pay your support obligations, it is better to go to court first and ask for them to be reduced before getting behind. In the worst-case scenario, people in PA are required to spend time in jail for failing to pay.
As a child support attorney, Kim A. Bodnar works with parents that need assistance with their current support arrangements. If you need help, call and schedule an appointment today.