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Regardless of whether you are separating or attempting to establish child custody and child support, a family law attorney is both necessary and helpful. A changing family dynamic and domestic relationship issues can be confusing and stressful. When you face those issues, it is important to seek legal guidance from experienced an Leesburg family lawyer who is prepared to answer questions that are specific to your situation in an effort to reach the best outcome possible for your family.
If you have a familial legal issue in Leesburg, contact a diligent attorney who will give your case the individual service that you need, rather than treat it like another case to be rolled off a factory’s assembly line. Two of the most important factors family lawyers in Leesburg work on are establishing custodial arrangements for children when the parents are separating or have an insufficient agreement in place and are establishing child support. Parties can establish custody and child support arrangements even if they have not been recently separated or divorced.
The custodial arrangement for the child or children is the determination of which parent the child or children will primarily live with. Virginia law allows for one parent to have primary physical custody, or for the parents to have a shared custody arrangement.
When one parent has primary physical custody, that parent has the primary responsibility to meet the child’s daily needs and make day-to-day decisions for the child. The other parent has visitation rights, which means they can see the child either on a schedule that was established by the court or whenever both parents agree to a visit. A family law attorney in Leesburg can assist in this regard by adovcating on their clients behalf and negotiating with the other side.
The court will also have the ability to decide legal custody of a child. Joint legal custody is an arrangement in which both parents share the right and responsibility to make major decisions about the minor child. If one parent has sole legal custody, then he or she has the sole right to make major decisions relating to the minor child.
Child support payments are designed to provide the child or children with the same lifestyle that the child would receive if the parents remained in the same household. Each state calculates its own child support guidelines.
In determining the amount that the non-custodial parent pays in child support in Leesburg, the court uses a standardized statewide formula. As a family law lawyer in our area can explain, the court calculates the number of children that the parties have together. Children from other relationships are calculated separately. The court then calculates the combined gross monthly income of the parents.
There is a monthly child support obligation schedule that establishes the amount that must be paid based on the number of children and the monthly gross income of the parents. For example, if the parties have a monthly gross income of $5,000 and they have two children jointly who are in the primary custody of one parent, then the total child support obligation is $1,136.
However, the total child support obligation is not the amount that the non-custodial parent is required to pay; the total is divided based on the percentage of the monthly income that each parent earns. If the non-custodial parent earns 30 percent of the gross monthly income that totaled $5,000, that parent would be required to pay $340.80, which is 30 percent of $1,136, the total child support obligation.
If you and your family are facing any situation that requires legal counsel, our dedicated and compassionate attorneys are here to serve as resources in any capacity that best helps you and your family through the process. Contact a Leesburg family lawyer today for more information.
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