According to Minnesota law, both parents are obligated to financially contribute to the care and well-being of their children. When one parent has physical custody of the child, the other pays child support to the custodial parent in order to continue their financial contribution toward the child’s needs.
During divorce, child custody cases, and visitation cases, child support is a matter that comes about because it is important to ensure that the child has everything that is needed to have a good quality of life.
If you are going through a divorce or you are in conflict with the other parent of your child about child support or other child-related matters, an experienced Minneapolis family law lawyer can help you through the process so that a satisfactory result can be reached.
Long-Term Guidance
There are three child support components and they are: basic support, medical support, and childcare support. The dollar amount of the payments is income-based and the incomes of both parents are considered. Being that finances can change over time, parents can request a review of the child support any time these changes occur. The change can be on the side of the parent receiving the payments or the parent making them. Regardless of how often the payment amounts may change, the support usually continues until the child graduates from high school or they turn18 years of age, whichever occurs second.
Nonetheless, any time you need assistance with your child support matter, your attorney will be there to guide you through the process, taking the proper steps for you so you can ensure the process moves as smoothly as possible. Your attorney will help you in the initial child support matter and will be there any time you need to request child support modification.
Helping You Through Child Support Matters
There is a set of guidelines that the court follows when determining how much child support a parent needs to pay. These guidelines consider the incomes of the parents and the amount of time the children spend with each parent. Incomes are compared and the appropriate percentage is allocated so that the child is taken care of.
If a parent doesn’t pay child support as they are ordered to by the court, an arrearage can result. This cannot be forgiven without appearing in court, so the state of Minnesota has some strict consequences for non-payment. They include:
- Taking tax refunds
- License revocation
- Denial or suspension of an occupational license
- Recreational license revocation
- Property lien
- Passport revocation or denial
- Collection agency referral
- Bank account holds
- Prison time
The consequences can be very serious, so having your Minneapolis family law attorney with you will help you address these matters, whether you are a custodial parent not receiving payments or you are the paying parent who has fallen into arrearage.
Contact A Minneapolis Family Law Lawyer
Child support can be necessary in divorce proceedings or any time one parent has custody of a child regardless of whether or not they were ever married. If you are seeking child support or child support is being sought from you, you need an experienced family law lawyer by your side guiding you through the process and helping you obtain the best result. To learn more about your rights and options, call the Olson Law Firm at 612-816-2322 to schedule a free consultation.
