San Francisco Child Support Attorneys

Parents are given the opportunity to determine child support themselves, but when that isn’t possible, it’s up to the courts. This support is usually determined by a state and/or county formula that takes multiple factors into account, including:

• Number of children
• Amount of time spent with each parent
• Each parent’s income or earning potential
• Cost of health insurance paid by the parents and additional financial obligations
• Tax filing status and deductions
• Special hardship circumstances, such as high medical costs

The court will evaluate the factors and make a ruling on which parent will pay, and the amount of the payment. The court has little discretion to vary the predetermined state/county formula for this support. However, the court has wide discretion to decide the figures that influence the dollar amount ordered.

A child support order is modifiable if there has been a change in circumstances that affects the support owed, including:

• A change in the amount of time the child spends with each parent
• A change in income, assets, or debts for either parent, such as a raise at work
• Other changes in the child’s financial needs, such as medical expenses that were not present when the initial support order was made by the court
• Hardships suffered by either parent
• Retirement of either party
• Changes in tax filing status and deductions

Our attorneys take into consideration the numerous factors affecting the amount payable from one party to the other, and provide you with thorough and sound legal advice.

• We will analyze financial information including the assets and income of both parties to help you reach a fair child support figure.
• We will help you in navigating the complex statutory formula for child support through our knowledge of important factors, like the Extraordinary Earners Exception. 
• We will work towards ensuring a court order that correctly reflects the financial needs of each party and the needs of your children.

We are a full-service family law firm with experience litigating and negotiating complex divorces and domestic partnership dissolutions in California since 2009.

• We understand more than family law: From analysing dividing stock options and restricted stock to untangling limited partnership interests and even working with a forensic accountant, we effectively support our clients in the high-asset landscapes of the Bay Area.
• We’re well-versed in custody matters: Our strategies are all about your children’s best interests, including helping you and your partner become successful co-parents when possible.
• When we say team, we mean it: We review client cases at weekly roundtable strategy sessions; this ensures that our clients receive the best possible solutions for their complex situations.
• We are straightforward with our clients: We tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Our attorneys answer your questions before, throughout and even after the journey of your case.

Whether it’s a simple asset division, a basic custody agreement, or more intricate matters like dividing stock options, limited partnership interests, or a contested custody dispute, we develop creative strategies to meet every goal. Our premier divorce lawyers have a strong record of courtroom success and negotiated settlements.