Bergen County Child Support Lawyer

Bergen County Child Support Lawyer

Are the expenses for your child higher than your child support in Bergen County, NJ? The experienced Bergen County child support lawyers at Arons & Solomon Divorce Lawyers, P.A. can help you get a fair child support award that provides for the needs of your children. Call us at (201) 487-1199 to schedule a free consultation with our attorneys.

Have you been ordered to pay child support but feel overwhelmed by the amount? You may be overpaying if your circumstances have changed. It could also be possible that the child support order was not accurately calculated. 

If your child’s situation has changed since the court originally awarded child support, you may feel like your child isn’t getting the financial support they deserve. We understand parents who want to take care of their kids, but also do not want to be taken advantage of.

How an Experienced Bergen County Family Law Attorney Can Help with Child Support

How an Experienced Bergen County Family Law Attorney Can Help with Child Support

Child support is, oftentimes, an important yet challenging aspect of divorce in Bergen County, NJ.

Some parents believe that there’s nothing an attorney can do to change the total amount of child support.

Since child support is based on the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines, it makes sense that people might think that everything about child support is cut-and-dried. But it’s not. 

In some situations, an experienced New Jersey divorce and family law attorney can help a client and the other parent to come to an agreement relating to child support. The benefit of a child support agreement is that the parents have the flexibility to do what is best for their unique situation. 

It’s not always possible to reach an agreement. If the matter must go to court, a skilled child support lawyer knows how to gather evidence that the court needs to establish the paying parent’s true gross income.  

You deserve to have a skilled and compassionate attorney helping you fight for what’s best for your children. At Arons & Solomon Divorce Lawyers, our attorneys have 150+ years of experience handling family law disputes just like yours. We’re here to help you, too.

  • Our experienced child support attorneys in North Jersey handle every case on a personal level.
  • When you call our offices, you will be connected to a lawyer whose practice is focused exclusively on family law and whose caseload is selective.
  • We’ve honed our skills by choosing a narrow focus on our clients. 
  • We know it can be more than just financially stressful when you have to deal with child support. It can be emotionally distressing as well. That’s why we provide our clients with the guidance they need to handle their child support issues. 

We assist clients with initial child support calculations as well as changes in child support awards. We also help parents collect unpaid child support obligations. Contact our caring family law attorneys today.

Child Support Lawyers Available Throughout Bergen County

At Arons & Solomon Divorce Lawyers, our legal team is proud to offer legal representation to is clients across North Jersey and Bergen County, including:

  • Teaneck
  • Englewood
  • Ridgewood
  • Tenafly
  • Franklin Lakes
  • Upper Saddle River
  • Allendale
  • Old Tappan
  • Hohokus
  • Saddle River

Don’t hesitate to give our law firm, with offices conveniently located in Hackensack and Madison, a call to get started on your child support case today.

What is Child Support? 

All parents have a legal duty to financially support their children.

That means that both parents are responsible for meeting the child’s needs. The right to child support belongs to the child. Child support is the manner by which the State of New Jersey ensures that divorced or unmarried parents are held responsible for their duty of support. 

In New Jersey, the custodial parent is the one who receives child support, called the payee. The noncustodial parent is the one who pays child support, called the payor. Parents cannot avoid their duty to pay child support by fighting for shared custody.

Cases involving shared custody still require court orders for child support. 

What Does Child Support Cover in New Jersey?

Child support can be used to cover the expenses of the minor child. Some expenses covered by child support are: 

  • Food for the child
  • Shelter (rent and utilities)
  • Clothing and shoes 
  • Education expenses
  • Medical costs 
  • Health care expenses and health insurance
  • Certain extracurricular activities 

Child support can also be used for expenses related to these categories. For example, if an extracurricular activity like baseball requires a child to bring their own helmet. 

In New Jersey, the child support guidelines do not include college tuition. However, New Jersey courts do generally expect parents to contribute to their child’s college education expenses. In some cases, parents might be excused from paying toward a child’s college education expenses

A skilled child support attorney in Bergen County, New Jersey can help you navigate the details of a child support award. We offer the privacy and flexibility of negotiated child support arrangements, but we are prepared to take the matter before the court if necessary. 

How is Child Support Calculated in New Jersey?

How is Child Support Calculated in New Jersey?

Courts use a fixed formula set out in the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines to calculate child support.

While the State of New Jersey offers a back-of-the-envelope style calculator tool, it is not guaranteed to be accurate. 

The only way to be sure that your child support award is correct and fair is to get the help of an experienced child support lawyer in Bergen County, NJ. 

The formula used to calculate child support payments considers: 

  • The combined gross income of both parents
  • The number of children
  • The percentage of parenting time 

These three factors are input into the formula and the formula provides a figure that forms the basis for a child support award. 

Gross income is income from any source. In New Jersey, it specifically includes, but is not limited to: 

  • Compensation for services (wages, salaries, fees, tips, and commissions)
  • Overtime, part-time, and severance pay
  • Bonuses, royalties, and profit-sharing plans
  • Alimony and separate maintenance payments (from current or past cases)
  • Rents received (less ordinary and necessary expenses)
  • Annuity payments or trust disbursements
  • Life insurance and endowment contracts
  • Retirement funds (Social Security, Veterans Administration, deferred compensation, Keoughs, and IRAs)
  • Personal injury awards
  • Disability payments and workers’ compensation awards

Most people do not receive income from all of these sources. However, an experienced New Jersey child support lawyer can help you identify all of the qualifying sources of income for the purpose of determining child support. 

Important Things to Consider When Calculating Gross Income For Child Support Awards in NJ

Calculating gross income isn’t always straightforward. Here are a few important things to take into consideration when calculating income and support.

Income From Business Operations

A savvy attorney can have a substantial impact on child support when one or both parents’ income is derived from operating a business. The law defines gross income from a business to include all revenues earned from the operation of the business, less only ordinary and necessary operating expenses. 

An expert’s evaluation of business profits and losses, as well as the ordinary and necessary operating expenses claimed by the business-operating parent, can meaningfully change the total gross income. 

Uncommon Sources of Income

Other uncommon, but potentially substantial, sources of income are related to dealing in property, a parent’s interest in a decedent’s estate or a trust, or net gambling winnings.

Imputed Income

In some rare situations, it is not possible to prove all the sources of a parent’s income. A knowledgeable attorney can help you understand New Jersey’s imputed income law and when a court will impute income to a parent whose sources of income cannot be determined. 

Special Considerations for High Net Worth Earners

Importantly, there special considerations for child support awards when one or both parents are high earners or have a high net worth. The New Jersey Child Support Guidelines provide recommended figures for families with a combined gross income of less than $5800 per week. If the parents’ combined gross income exceeds that amount, they are above the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines income cap

In cases with high earning or high net worth families, there may be a heightened desire for privacy. If so, parents can attempt mediation to come to an agreement. Although the agreement must still be approved by the court, mediation can prevent private information from being introduced into the public record

Changing Child Support in New Jersey

As children grow and time goes on, their financial needs can change. One or both parents may have a change in income. When changes impact the child’s financial needs or the parents’ ability to pay, it may be a good idea to seek a change in child support. 

Our experienced child support attorneys can help you understand whether it is time to re-evaluate your child support award. If you have any questions or you are not sure whether your circumstances support a child support modification, we can clear up your doubt. 

Collecting Unpaid Child Support in New Jersey

The State of New Jersey prefers to take child support from the payor parent’s paycheck automatically and send the money to the payee parent for the benefit of the child. We have experience in cases that require child support enforcement. If you aren’t receiving the money you are owed, we can protect your child’s right to financial support. 

Your Choice of Child Support Attorney Matters – Why You Need to Call Arons & Solomon Divorce Lawyers

Our job is to work for the optimal result for our client given the circumstances. Different circumstances require different skills and strategies. There are a few traditional ways that an attorney can help you resolve your child support issues: negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation

Our attorneys have experience in the traditional methods of dispute resolution but are also capable of supporting clients through a collaborative divorce. Collaborative divorce offers the potential for low-conflict and discreet cooperation. Both parties agree to maximum transparency and minimum negativity. 

Bergen County child custody lawyer Marion Solomon is a “Master” in New Jersey Family Law Inn of Court, a designation that she earned through a career of focus on family law practice. Arons & Solomon Divorce Lawyers founding member Mitchell Arons is a certified mediator with a reputation in the legal community for his sharp skills, respectful manner, and co-founding Collaborative Divorce Association of North Jersey in 2006. 

Through our years of experience, we learned that it is best for our clients to have a professional divorce team

Your team includes your attorney but might also include a:

  • Certified Professional Accountant (CPA), 
  • Certified Financial Planner (CFP), 
  • Mental health professional, or 
  • Child specialist. 

Since each case is unique, you may only need some of these professionals. 

Contact Our Bergen County Child Support Lawyers for Help

Contact Arons & Solomon Divorce Lawyers for legal advice and to learn more about how we can ensure you have a fair child support award. Our experienced Bergen County child support lawyers are ready to get started working for you. As always, your first consultation is always free.

Bergen County Child Support Testimonial

Bergen County Child Support Testimonial

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New Jersey Courts

  1. The Bergen County Courthouse – 10 Main St. Hackensack, NJ 07601
  2. Fort lee Municipal Court – 309 Main St. Fort Lee, NJ 07024
  3. Bergen County Clerk’s Office – 1 Bergen County Plz. Hackensack, NJ 07601

*Disclaimer – we do not endorse these companies or profit from having them listed on our website.

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Areas We Serve In Bergen County

HackensackBergenfieldTeaneckRidgefield ParkEast RutherfordParamusNew MilfordBergenfieldSaddle BrookTenaflySouth Hackensack, and it’s surrounding areas.