Santa Monica Child Support Attorney

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At Fernandez & Karney, our Santa Monica child support lawyers have over 120 years of combined legal experience handling every aspect of California family law matters.

Our law firm founders and managing partners, Steven Fernandez and Mark Karney, are not just experienced, they are Certified Family Law Specialists by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. This prestigious certification, coupled with their extensive experience, ensures that you will receive the top-notch legal representation you deserve when dealing with critical financial matters like child support.

Child Support

We understand that Santa Monica is widely recognized as one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, where affluent celebrities, business owners, and entertainment industry moguls have homes. This means many family law cases will be decided here when they cannot reach an agreement privately during negotiations with their attorneys.

In these cases, the courts may consider the standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the parents had remained together when determining child support. For high-net-worth parents, maintaining the child’s accustomed standard of living can involve significant financial considerations. Our skilled child support attorneys in Santa Monica can help resolve these matters with the discretion essential in high-asset child support claims to ensure our clients receive comprehensive legal representation tailored to their unique financial circumstances and objectives.

Our unique approach to each case sets us apart. It is tailored specifically to your needs and circumstances. We value your unique situation and are committed to providing personalized legal services. Meet with one of our skilled family law attorneys in Santa Monica during a confidential consultation today to learn more about our customized approach to family law cases.

Fernandez & Karney is a full-service family law firm that can assist you with any family law matter, regardless of its complexity.

Dedicated Santa Monica Child Support Attorneys

Children have the right to monetary support from both parents in Santa Monica, California. Whether you are a custodial parent seeking support for your child or require a modification of your current child support payment, the Santa Monica child support lawyers at Fernandez & Karney have the experience to help you accomplish your legal goals.

At Fernandez & Karney, our child support attorneys are:

Current on California’s evolving family and child support laws.
Dedicated to defending and protecting your interests.
Focused and efficient when handling child support matters.

Meet with a child support professional today to plan a case strategy. Your consultation is completely confidential at Fernandez & Karney.

How Can the Santa Monica Child Support Attorneys at Fernandez & Karney Can Help?

The Santa Monica child support attorneys at Fernandez & Karney can handle your child support issue as a stand-alone case or as part of a more extensive matter like a divorce, child custody, guardianship, or paternity case. While we are excellent negotiators and will advocate for you in any environment, we understand that not every outcome can be achieved outside courtroom litigation.

Fernandez & Karney provides excellent legal representation both inside and outside of the courtroom and can do the following:

Ensure you understand the impact of California’s child support laws on you and your family.
Stand beside you from start to finish of your entire case.
Organize your support payments.
Enforce any past-due support payments.
Calculate anticipated support payments.
Negotiate a new support payment with your co-parent.
Analyze your support case for deviations or add-ons.
Litigate your case at trial.

Protect your rights and those of your child by seeking assistance today. You deserve a complete and accurate child support analysis and computation. Learn more with a Santa Monica family law attorney at Fernandez & Karney.

How Do California Family Law Courts Determine Child Support Amounts?

Parents can agree upon child support during private negotiations with their attorneys, or when they reach a stalemate, the court will order the amount. Parents’ agreements must be in the child’s best interests; otherwise, the court will not sign off on the plan.

The court determines child support based on the child’s best interests and several statutory factors found in California Family Code 4055.

These include the following:

Each parent’s gross monthly income.
The amount of time each parent spends with the child.
Mandatory union dues and retirement account deductions.
Financial disparities between the custodial and non-custodial homes.
The ability of each parent to pay for the children’s support.
The number of children from the marriage or relationship.
The tax filing status of each parent.
Child support obligations from other relationships.
Healthcare expenses and insurance premiums.
The cost of childcare.
Travel expenses for visitation.
Educational expenses.
Any special needs the child has.

Child support payments are made monthly by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent (the parent with whom the child primarily resides) and must be paid in full, on schedule. If you believe your child support amount is too high or not enough, our dedicated Santa Monica family law attorneys will evaluate your case and provide the legal guidance you need to understand how California’s child support laws impact your case. Call us now to learn more.

When Does Child Support End in Santa Monica?

Santa Monica, California, requires parents to pay child support until a child is eighteen. If the child is still in high school, payments must continue until nineteen. Parents may also make alternative arrangements for child support to continue beyond nineteen for reasons such as higher education or special needs.

Can Child Support Be Modified in Santa Monica, California?

There must be a significant change in circumstances for a parent to request and be granted a child support modification in Santa Monica, California.

Possible reasons for a child support modification include:

A job loss.
A drastic change in income.
Incarceration of a parent.
A substantial increase or decrease in visitation time.

The burden of proof typically falls on the party seeking the modification. This means that the parent seeking the change in child support payments must demonstrate to the court that there has been a significant change in circumstances warranting a modification. Once the requesting party has met their burden of proof and demonstrated a substantial change in circumstances, the burden may shift to the other parent to show why the requested modification is not appropriate or necessary. This is when having an experienced Santa Monica child support attorney representing your best interests will impact your case.

The court will decide whether to modify the child support order or deny it based on the child’s best interests. As your attorney, it is our job to produce results no matter which side of the modification request you are on. Call us today to learn how we can put our 120 combined years of family law experience to work for you.

We Also Focus on the Following Areas in Santa Monica:

Contact an Experienced Santa Monica Child Support Attorney

If you are a parent in Santa Monica, California, who needs strong, successful legal representation in child support or other family law matters, look no further than Fernandez & Karney. Our experienced and dependable Santa Monica child support attorneys will work tirelessly to further your legal interests and meet your expectations.

Contact Fernandez & Karney in Santa Monica to discuss our approach to child support cases and have your most pressing legal questions answered by our law firm’s founders and managing partners, Steven Fernandez and Mark Karney, who are Certified Family Law Specialists by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization.

Do not allow your legal burdens to weigh you down. Let Fernandez & Karney shoulder your concerns and legal issues so you can confidently move forward.