My Cousin Danny

Free Telephone Consultation

470-275-1500

Child support may be the gift that keeps on giving or the albatross around your neck. Don’t take chances with your child’s future or your future well being have My Cousin Danny represent you in your child support case or modification. In Georgia child support can be found in Title 19 of the Domestic Relations Code. The factors and formulas of O.C.G.A § 19-6-15 determine how child support is calculated.  Many lawyers will be able to combine the Parties Gross Monthly Income to determine the Parties’ presumptive monthly support obligation and even determine each Party’s pro rata share, but only an experience attorney, like My Cousin Danny will be able to maximize or minimize the final amount paid or received. Let me show you how self-employment taxes, preexisting child support orders and or theoretical child support orders can reduce the monthly amount you will have to pay; or conversely, let me explain to the Court how these reductions are not appropriate in a given case.  Including or excluding discretionary deviations can add or save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a child support order.

  • Do you qualify for a low income, extradentary expense, mortgage, alimony, travel expense, child and dependent tax credit, life insurance, other health related insurance, parenting time or non-specific deviation?
  • Should your ex-spouse pay more than the presumptive amount for a high-income deviation?

Let me analyze the facts of your case and work for you to increase the amount of child support you will receive or decrease the amount you will have to pay each month.

Georgia Online Child Support Calculator: https://csconlinecalc.georgiacourts.gov/frontend/web/index.php

Negotiation

This is where My Cousin Danny can help you the most. Nothing contained with O.C.G.A 19-6-15 prevents the Parties from entering into an enforceable agreement contrary to the presumptive amount within the Statute. The Court will review the adequacy of the child support amount negotiated by the Parties and look at provisions for medical expenses, health insurance.  Furthermore, the Parties agreement must contain findings of fact to legally explain to the Court why the Parties’ child support agreement is acceptable and the presumptive amount is not in the best interest of the child.  Let My Cousin Danny work for you in negotiating and drafting a Child Support Addendum that will save you thousands of dollars over time or bring you the maximum amount.

Modification of Child Support

Times change and situations change also.  What might have been fair and equitable when it was ordered by the Court or agreed to by the Parties may no longer work or be in the best interest of the child. Georgia law allows parents to modify their child support obligation under certain conditions. Whether you are the payer of child support seeking to have your support reduced or are the recipient of child support interested in having the other party’s obligation increased, we can help.

A parent has the right to petition for modification of child support award regardless of the length of time since the establishment of the child support Order if there is a substantial change in either parent’s income and financial status, or the needs of the child.

If the Order creating the child support obligation is less than two years old, in general, a Petition to Modify the Order cannot be filed unless:

  1. The noncustodial parent has failed to exercise court ordered visitation;
  2. The noncustodial parent has exercised a greater amount of visitation than was provided in the court order; or
  3. The basis of the to modification is based upon an involuntary loss of income.

Involuntary loss of income is defined as:  “In the event a parent suffers an involuntary termination of employment, has an extended involuntary loss of average weekly hours, is involved in an organized strike, incurs a loss of health, becomes incarcerated, or similar involuntary adversity resulting in a loss of income of 25 percent or more, then the portion of child support attributable to lost income shall not accrue from the date of the service of the petition for modification, provided that service is made on the other parent. It shall not be considered an involuntary termination of employment if the parent has left the employer without good cause in connection with the parent’s most recent work.”

Add ons

Calculating child support is not the end of the story when a divorce with children is occurring.  All those bills and activities that may have gone undiscussed when you were married or been paid without much thought or discussion may now become an issue. As your attorney My Cousin Danny will protect your interests so that if a disagreement arise it will be covered within your divorce agreement. Out of pocket medical expenses, extra-curricular activities, extraordinary educational expenses, camps, day care, private school, dance lessons, children’s cell phones, and music lessons are some of the issues you may face after your divorce that can dramatically affect how much money you have to come up with each month.  Don’t navigate this minefield alone. My Cousin Danny has been here before and knows the landscape.

Military Compensation as Gross Monthly Income

When calculating gross income of a military service member gross monthly income includes base pay or drill pay, basic allowance for subsistence (BAS) and basic allowance for housing (BAH). However, BAH amounts for dependents or area variable housing costs are not part of monthly gross income. My Cousin Danny is experienced in dealing with active duty and retired military members and is well versed in helping them win their case, or reduce the amount they will have to pay.

Hiding Income and Under Employment

In many cases calculating a party’s gross monthly income is very simple and straight forward.  However, My Cousin Danny has had an equal amount of cases where reliably determining gross monthly income is difficult if not bordering on speculative.   Long term unemployment, transitional unemployment, retirement, changes in employers, changes in employment fields, new ventures, payments in cash or tips, and employment based on commissions are some of the challenges that can be present when trying to accurately calculate how much money a person makes each month.  As a layman you may not be equipped to convince the Court to impute income to your ex-spouse, and you don’t have to be.  My Cousin Danny will help you prove your case to get a maximum amount of child support or limit your monthly obligation.  Imputing income is a topic that My Cousin Danny has written about and presented on a panel discussion for the American Bar Association.  Don’t go it alone, call your cousin; My Cousin Danny.

Call today, 470-275-1500, and talk to My Cousin Danny about your Fulton County, Gwinnett County, DeKalb County or Cobb County Child Support case.

Common Legal Questions

How do I file for divorce?

A divorce is initiated by filing a Domestic Relations Case Initiation Form, Summons, and Petition for Divorce with the Court Clerk of the relevant County of the Parties; and paying a filing fee. Once a divorce is properly filed the Respondent (person not initiating the divorce) must be served with process.

How long before I get my license back?

It depends on your past driving history, your age, the class of driver’s license you have and the current charges against you.  As an example, for drivers over 21 years old a second, non-drug-related DUI conviction within five years of the prior conviction will result in DDS will suspending your license for three years.  Call to discuss the specifics of your case.

What Can i drive with a DUI?

Once again, it depends. If your DUI conviction was drug-related (the influence of drugs alone, or alcohol and drugs combined) you face different rules regarding license suspension. For a second DUI-Drug conviction in five years, DDS will issue a yearlong “hard suspension” of your license, meaning that you won’t be allowed to drive for 12 months, period. But if you enter an alternative sentencing program like a DUI or Drug Court, you might be eligible for limited permit.

Can I get 50/50 Custody?

In Georgia child custody has two components: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the right and ability to talk to your child’s doctor, teachers and such. Think of it as the ability to have a say in their life. Physical custody is the person who the child primarily lives with.  Most divorcing parents will have joint legal custody (50/50 custody) of any minor children born of the marriage, while designating one parent as the physical custodian of the child or children.  However, it is possible to have 50/50 joint legal and physical custody.

How much does a divorce cost?

There is no magic answer to that question. Other than everybody paying the same filing fee to initiate a divorce each divorce contains different issues, different disputes and different personalities. The Parties to the divorce have the biggest influence on the final cost of the divorce.  Litigants who are fighting over silverware and toiletries out of spite for each other are likely to spend a larger amount that people who have resolved most of their issues.  High value divorces with stocks, multiple parcels of real property, business or large pre-marital assets will also cost more than divorces with less assets.  Lawyers sell their time. A divorce that takes more hours is going to cost more than a divorce that takes less hours. Let’s talk about your divorce so you will have an idea of the total cost.

Can i leave the state with my kids?

A well drafted parenting plan will cover contingencies and events you might not have though of. Interstate, intrastate and international travel are all issues that should be considered before signing any agreement.  Depending on the facts of your case out of state travel with your children should be permissible with reasonable notice to the child’s other parent. What is reasonable notice? Call me, and lets talk.    

Contact Us

Phone

470-275-1500

Email

dan@palumbolawga.com

Hours

Monday - Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Also by appointment

Address

2323 Brockett Rd
Tucker, GA 30084

Contact Us for a Free Case Evaluation

© 2019 Palumbo Law