Topeka Child Support Lawyers

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Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Topeka child support lawyers help parents with child support issues on a daily basis. Whether we are assisting with a divorce involving children, a paternity action, or a modification, we routinely apply and advise clients regarding the Kansas Child Support Guidelines. If you need assistance with a child support issue, make our Topeka child support attorneys your first call.

Calculating Child Support in Topeka, Kansas

In all Kansas cases involving child support, the court will calculate and order an amount of financial maintenance for a child according to the Kansas Child Support Guidelines. The guidelines determine the amount of child support to be paid based on the parents’ incomes, childcare costs, health insurance costs, and the division of tax exemptions. Who pays child support and how much that parent pays will also be affected by the custody arrangement.

As we help our clients with child support issues, Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Topeka child support attorneys act as counselors and problem solvers. Our main goals are to help our clients understand how child support is calculated and ensure we have the information necessary to make accurate calculations. We then work to address special issues that exist in each individual case. For example, calculations may be complicated when one parent is self-employed or when current circumstances are not fully reflected by evidence of past income and relevant expenses.

Topeka Child Support Attorneys Helping You Resolve Disputes

Child support disputes may arise as a result of altered custody arrangements, changes in income, parents moving out of state, or children growing older. Resolution of these disputes relies on how the Kansas Child Support Guidelines apply. At Joseph, Hollander & Craft, our child support attorneys in Topeka have experience applying them in a number of unique situations. We review all available options with our clients, show how the formula applies, and help them determine how to proceed.

Our family law attorneys routinely assist clients who need to modify a child support order as well as clients establishing child support for the first time. Our Topeka child support attorneys want to help you achieve a reasonable child support order and will fight to get it for you.

When Can You Modify a Child Support Order in Kansas?

Parents must financially support their children until they reach 18 years of age or graduate from high school. Accordingly, child support obligations can last for several years. With the many changes that come with time, child support modifications are common. However, modification of a child support order is only available when there is a material change in circumstances. Some of the following factors may qualify as a material change in circumstances:

• Children have changed age groups (0-5, 6-11, 12-18)
• A parent’s income has changed
• A parent has relocated
• The residency arrangement has changed
• Relevant costs have changed

If any of these factors apply to your situation, our Topeka child support attorneys may be able to help modify your child support order. Several other changes may justify child support modification. The Topeka child support modification attorneys at Joseph, Hollander & Craft regularly advise clients regarding whether modification may be available and represent them before the court as they request modification. We also defend clients who seek to prevent an unfavorable modification to their child support order.

Frequently Asked Questions About Topeka Child Support

What information is needed to calculate child support?

To calculate child support, your attorney will need the following information:

• Both parents’ gross incomes, which includes all earnings from all sources
• Information regarding each parent’s court-ordered child support and alimony payments
• The amount of parenting time that is shared between the parents
• The amount of money that is spent on the child’s health insurance and daycare
• Expenses related to long-distance parenting time (e.g. transportation costs) and special needs expenses

An attorney can assist you with taking steps to ensure that you have everything necessary to calculate an accurate amount of monthly child support.

Do I have to pay support if I don’t think I’m the father?

Anyone who is legally established as the father of a child has an obligation to support the child. In Kansas, a man is presumed to be the father of a child under certain conditions, including:

• He was married to the mother when the child was born or within 300 days of the marriage’s end.
• He has formally acknowledged paternity in writing, such as by adding his name to the child’s birth certificate.

If you wish to contest paternity, there is a legal process to do so, which may involve genetic testing to determine biological parentage.

Can I refuse to accept child support from my coparent?

Once child support has been ordered, payments cannot be waived without a subsequent court order directing them to be stopped. A court considering a request to stop child support payments will consider:

• What impact the waiver may have on the child’s best interests
• The reason the parent is seeking the waiver
• The nature of the relationship between the parents
• How stable the child’s home life is

The same considerations will apply to a parent seeking to waive child support payments from the outset. Because child support is a right of the child, the child’s best interests will control the outcome.

Does child support cover private school? What about college?

Child support calculation worksheets do not account for school tuition as a matter of course, but a parent may ask a court to include tuition in its child support order.

A parent wishing to include private school tuition will generally need to demonstrate more than simply the fact that the child was attending private school when the parents separated or divorced. After all, when parents do separate, they typically go from a two-income household to a one-income household, forcing them to downsize all expenses. The parent who wants an order for payment of private school tuition should be prepared to show the court:

• Why the child needs to remain in private school
• The child’s unique individual needs
• How private school is able to meet those needs
• Why other types of school would not be adequate for the child’s needs
• The paying parent has the financial resources to fund private school tuition

As for college, the standard child support obligation ends once the child reaches the age of majority (18 years old) or completes high school. However, parents may agree to include payments for college tuition in a child support order or a separate contract.

How long will a child support order last?

Kansas child support orders require support to last through the child’s eighteenth birthday or, if the child turns eighteen during high school, through the end of the school year. Sometimes, a court may order payment until the child is nineteen if the child is still in high school.

What expenses is child support supposed to cover?

The Kansas Child Support Guidelines state: “The purpose of child support is to pay for and provide for the needs of the child whether the child lives with a parent or a third party. The needs of the child include direct and indirect expenses related to the day-to-day care and well-being of the child.”

The guidelines define direct expenses as “fixed expenses paid directly to a third party,” such as: all school and school-related expenses including school lunches; extracurricular activities and all necessary supplies and equipment to support those activities; and clothing. These guidelines define indirect expenses as “those expenses that benefit the child but are not paid directly for their personal needs.” This includes food, transportation, housing, and utilities.

Can I receive child support from my child’s father if we did not marry?

Yes. Child support may be ordered after paternity is established. It is common for child support (and child custody, residency, and parenting time) to be established in a paternity action rather than in a divorce action.

Can I deny visitation when my former partner has not paid child support? Can my former partner deny visitation if I have not paid child support?

No. Nonpayment of child support is not a valid basis to deny a child and a parent their court-ordered time together.

Can I refuse to pay child support if my former partner denies me access to my child?

No. One parent cannot refuse child support payments because the other parent has limited or denied parenting time. The obligations to pay child support and allow parenting time are separate and unrelated to the behavior of the parents.

Do You Have a Child Support Lawyer Near Me?

Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Topeka office is located at 1508 SW Topeka Blvd, between 15^th and 16^th. This is onsite parking available. We maintain additional offices in Overland Park, Lawrence, and Wichita, as well as Kansas City, MO. Our Topeka family lawyers provide strategic counsel and representation in Shawnee, Riley, Geary, Brown, Nemaha, Jackson, Wabaunsee, and Jefferson Counties.