To most people, divorce is one of the most difficult emotional experiences of their life. The experience is more complex when children are involved. The law stipulates that you have to pay for child support. Child support is an amount that you pay for the care and support of your child. It goes towards providing the child with everything that he/she needs. The needs range from clothing to school fees and entertainment. The overall aim and mission of child support is to improve the quality of life for the child.  The law requires both parents to contribute towards the upbringing of their children. To ensure that you don’t contribute an amount that is beyond your reach, you should arm yourself with a divorce lawyer.

Factors considered in determining the amount of child support

It’s recommended that you solve the issue with your spouse and your lawyers but if you fail to agree and go to court, you have to sit back and wait for the court to make the decision for you. For the court to determine the amount of child support that the child requires it looks at the financial needs of the child. If the child has special needs, or a serious illness/disability, then the child may require more money.

For the court to determine who gets to pay what, it considers a number of factors. One of the factors is who has custody of the child. If one parent is given sole custody of the child, then the other parent has to pay for child support. If both parents split custody of their children, the court decides on the amount that each parent needs to contribute.  The other factor that the court considers is the ability of the parent to pay for support. To be on the safe side you should work with your child support lawyer and ensure that you pay an amount that you are comfortable with.

Once the amount of child support has been calculated it remains static unless reviewed. You can ask the court to review the amount that you pay if you are experiencing a financial hardship or your spouse is earning more than before.

Conclusion

To have an easy time you should work with your family lawyer and settle on the amount that each parent should contribute towards the upbringing of your children. You should avoid dragging each other to court as it’s not only time consuming, but also emotional and financially draining.