Newport RI Child support attorneys, Rhode Island Child Support Lawyers
Phone: 401-841-5700
Fax: 401-367-0192
Phone: 401-841-5700
Fax: 401-367-0192
Contact the RI Child Support Lawyers at The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD at:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
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Pursuant to the Federal Child Support Enforcement Act, Rhode Island has a set of mandatory guidelines for determining the amount of child support that the non-custodial parent will have to pay. Child support is based upon a percentage share of a support amount derived from the gross income for both parties. There are required deductions from the parents’ gross incomes for pre-existing child support payments, health insurance premiums (or medical cash contributions) and additional minor dependents. There are other optional adjustments to the gross income of the parent which are discretionary with the court such as pension or retirement payments, life insurance premiums, income tax exemptions allowance, and payments for assigned marital debts. Generally, the custodial parent takes the income tax dependency exemption for the child but this can be negotiated and the guideline worksheet adjusted.
CHILD SUPPORT:
Client/father came to us after being served with a motion to modify child support 11 years after the original divorce. We worked with the client and the other attorney to reach a resolution without having to litigate the matter saving the client time out of work and attorneys fees.
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Work-related child care costs are normally included in the child support calculation but they can be separated and by agreement paid in another manner then together with the child support. The formula requires that the amount of work-related day care be reduced by any federal tax credit which will accrue to the payer of the day care.
A party can also be ordered to contribute to the medical health insurance for the child or children.
Contact the Newport RI Child Support Attorneys at The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
Because these guidelines vary from state to state, identical situations may yield very different results depending upon where you live. A Rhode Island child support order can follow the children into another state.
MILITARY DIVORCE / SUPPORT CASE:
Military Divorce of parties with one child, less than a year old. Husband was on active duty. Wife’s attorney contacted us to assist her with trying to understand what the military requires of its members who have children, and how that differs from the family court. Ultimately, after consulting with us, the attorney initiated a “Congressional Inquiry” to determine why actions were not being taken by the military to require the soldier to support his child. Within days thereafter, a garnishment of his wages took place and the mother began to receive her support.
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Child support can also vary from the child support guidelines in cases where placement is shared by the parents more than the norm. In such as case, the amount to be paid is based not only upon the respective gross income of the parties but also upon how much time the child spends with each parent.
The divorcing parties will be required to fill out financial worksheets with detailed financial information listing income, living expenses, medical insurance, and any outstanding debt. Although courts like to enable the standard of living pre-divorce to remain the same for the child, they are also aware that it is not always feasible considering the difficulty of maintaining two households on income that formerly supported only one home.
The parties can vary from the guidelines but the plan must be approved by the court if the child support amount is less than the guidelines and the parties must establish good cause for the reduced amount. In that case, the Judge is required to make specific written findings of facts on the child support guideline worksheet to justify the down-ward modification from the standard guidelines support amount.
Contact the Newport Rhode Island Child Support Law Firm of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
In some cases the court may decide to award support based upon what the party has the potential to earn, rather than actual earnings. This is called “imputed income”. Income is imputed when a non-custodial parent voluntarily leaves a job to go to school, takes a lower paying job with the potential to earn more in the future, is not accepting available employment or takes a job with lower pay for whatever reason. In each instance, the court will award an amount of child support based upon projected gross income figures based upon earning ability rather than the actual income of the non-custodial parent.
Child support is always modifiable based upon changes of circumstances. The change must be substantial enough to justify returning to court for a modification of the support order.
Contact the Newport RI Child Support Attorneys of The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
In today’s economic climate, many divorcing couples are having a very difficult time dividing their assets because their investment accounts and “qualified” assets such as 401k accounts have diminished in value. At the same time their real estate value has diminished and their debt has increased. Often, they are running a negative cash flow even before they separate and have two residences to support.
When Jeremy Howe and Kristy Garside represent a party in a divorce action, we often are met with unrealistic offers from opposing counsel or we want to put forth a fair and realistic offer grounded on facts and not emotion. Our use of the software allows us in all cases to present clear projections of the current and future budgets of the persons with accurate future tax computations. The result is the most accurate picture possible of the economic consequences of an offer or counter-offer.
Similarly, When Nancy Johnson-Gallagher and Jeremy Howe of “Partners In Mediation” mediate cases, they use Family Law Software in most of the mediations. The software serves the important purpose of pointing out the true and complete economic position of the couple. Most often, one or both of the mediating couple do not have a clear picture of their economic reality. If the other party or the mediator(s) show that reality, they can be seen as “siding” with the other person (who does understand their reality) or as trying to defeat the desire of the other to be divorced.
More importantly, the software allows your mediators or your lawyer to manipulate all variables to determine which solution is the best solution:
All of these questions can be answered through use of the software and in many mediations and divorces, the software information has been the key to showing our clients the “bottom” line regarding their future budget and their future estates. Some mediators espouse a type of mediation known as “collaborative” mediation where they bring in attorneys, counselors and accountants with the mediating persons to resolve domestic mediations.
In our case, we bring our legal knowledge (Jeremy Howe) and our therapy experience (Nancy Johnson-Gallagher) into the room with our Family Law Software and we have found that our method is cost-effective and that the parties are in a better position to mediate if they are not mediating in a vacuum. Similarly, a divorcing client can “buy into” a solution if he or she can see the present and future affect of an offer on them personally. In all cases, we offer the mediating persons or our clients the option of validating the data with their own accountant. We submit that we can help customers through the difficult divorce process better through our use of Family Law Software.
Contact the Family and Divorce Attorneys of The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe LTD at:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
Disclaimer
CASE RESULTS : EACH CASE IS FACT SPECIFIC AND WHAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED IN THESE CASES MAY NOT “FIT” YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION OR BE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST.
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The information contained in this site is provided as a public service for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a comprehensive statement of the law or, in particular, to contain legal advice. Laws vary from state to state and are subject to change, which could affect the information available on this site. If you have questions regarding any information found on this site, you should consult an attorney who can investigate the particular circumstances of your situation. Persons receiving information found on this site should not act on this information without receiving professional legal counsel. The opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of the firm or any individual attorney.
The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law. The Court does not license any lawyer as an expert or a specialist in any field of practice.
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