Budgeting for Your Child’s Success
As men, the desire to support our families defines who we are. Yet, other than a child’s health and wellbeing, few concerns worry new fathers like the prospect of court-ordered child support payments. The best Tulsa child support attorneys understand why.
Although men yearn to provide for their family, child support payments turn the ambitions of eager breadwinners into obliging acquiescence. Men want to provide because they love their child but child support laws transform their contribution into a matter of legal compliance.
Men cannot simply sidestep Oklahoma child support laws. In almost all cases where courts adjudicate relationships between unmarried or divorcing parents, Tulsa courts order one or the other parent to pay child support. Yet worry and fear stops some dads from taking control of the legal process when they can make a difference.
At the Dads.Law law office, the Tulsa child support attorney for men helps fathers gain an understanding of how child support laws work. Knowing the basics helps fathers work with an attorney toward a plan that will ensure the best future for their children.
How to Calculate Child Support in Oklahoma
Oklahoma child support guidelines use each parent’s earnings along with the number of overnights a child spends with each parent to calculate child support payments. Even though a child might spend more time with one parent, that parent may still be ordered to pay child support because of their higher earnings.
Oklahoma child support calculations also consider fringe benefits, spousal support payments, health insurance premiums, other children under a parent’s care and social security benefits. Because Oklahoma child support calculations depend on so many factors, a Tulsa child support lawyer assesses the full scope of each parent’s lifestyle and involvement.
Before courts finalize child support cases, your attorney works to discover all information required to create a fair, manageable child support order. Full disclosure of circumstances often results in minimal obligations for fathers, or even establishes the mother’s obligation to pay child support.
Avoid Foreseeable Child Support Hazards
A Tulsa child support attorney also helps fathers avoid pitfalls that can lead to long-term arrearages. Fathers of newborns and divorcing fathers must confront the legal realities of child support in Oklahoma before things pile up.
For unmarried fathers, failure to act immediately can result in Oklahoma DHS establishing child support obligations with no custodial or visitation rights for the father. Unwed dads of a newborn or dads who anticipate the birth of a child urgently need an attorney to evaluate their situation – before the state gives everything to the mom and leaves dad with nothing but child support debts.
When fathers fail to establish paternity in Oklahoma, courts can order them to pay child support arrearages from the time a child is born, even when child support obligations are established months or possibly years later. To get credit for what they give, fathers must document their contributions before courts finalize a support order.
Once incurred, child support debts last forever. Interest accrues. Courts may impose civil and even criminal penalties for nonpayment. To avoid mounting obligations in the future fathers must unleash their legal resources early.
The one child support fear more fathers worry about above all else involves changes to their income or ability to provide. Dads who understand the process have less reason to be concerned. When circumstances change, fathers may apply for a child support modification. Yet, Oklahoma courts refuse to backdate modifications. Dads who quickly respond to changes avoid mounting debts they cannot afford.
Low-cost Strategy Session: Tulsa Child Support Attorney
Fortunately for fathers, an early response improves their opportunity to take charge of the child support process. Fathers who retain legal counsel can shave off financial burdens that otherwise get in the way of raising a child.
Contact a Tulsa child support attorney at Dads.Law to discover how you can manage child support proceedings, protect your financial future and shatter the worry that weighs down so many fathers.
To set up a free, confidential consultation, call Dads.Law at (918) 962-0900 or click below to request a consultation online.
