Under the Protection from Abuse Act, a Court can, as part of the order granting a protection from abuse, also issue terms on custody of the minor children as part of that order.A Protection from Abuse order can be granted in Pennsylvania for up to three years. If an order includes a provision for custody, this does not mean that the other parent will not get to see the children for three years. If an order is entered that contains custody provisions, it is very important if the order is entered against you that you file for custody through the Family Court in the county where the Child resides. The Court in Family Court will determine custody and the terms of that custody order will override the terms in the Protection from Abuse Order. Likewise, if you receive a Child Support order as part of a Protection from Abuse Order, you must file for child support within two weeks in order to continue to receive child support. You file for child support at Domestic Relations. As long as you file for child support within the two week period, you will continue to receive support under the PFA order until Domestic Relations has its hearing and enters a new child support order. If you fail to file in the two week period then the child support in the PFA will terminate and you will not get support until you file and have a hearing through Domestic Relations.
Tag Archive for: child support
Child support is a remedy afforded to the parent who has the majority of time with the children or who has equal time but makes less money. Child support may be filed either in the county where the child lives, the defendant lives or the defendant works. In Pennsylvania, child support is based on guidelines so no matter what county in Pennsylvania you choose to file, the amount should be the same and the money is all funneled through the PACSES which is located in Harrisburg. The difference may be procedure, time and how many steps it takes you to see the Judge. For example, in Bucks County, PA, you will attend a lower level conference and if not resolved it will be scheduled for a Judge within a few weeks. In Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties, however, you will first go to a conference, then to a Master’s Hearing and then to a Judge.
You should file for support as soon as you know that you will not be living with the other parent and about six weeks prior to the date you will separate. There are no filing fees for support in any of the counties and it is one of the few times you will not have to pay a filing fee. Most counties have pre-printed forms that you can fill out to file on your own or you can hire an attorney to file it for you. Domestic Relations is the office that handles support matters and you will want to contact that office to find out the hours and location to file in your county.
Whether you are receiving or support, it’s important that if you become disabled, or end up on unemployment, even temporarily, that you file to modify your support. Just because you are out of work, or undergo surgery, does not mean that you can explain it all later to the Court. Nor does it mean that your support will not be due. You need to file to either lower or stop your support if you are paying during the period of time you are disabled or out of work. Otherwise, if you do nothing, the amount you were ordered to pay will continue to charge against you and you could find yourself in contempt if it is not paid. If you are the one receiving support and you become disabled, or suddenly lose your job and are on unemployment, you need to file in order to see if you can get an increase in support temporarily while you are out. If you are unable to file yourself, it may be a good idea to give someone you trust a Power of Attorney to file on your behalf.
Support is modifiable whenever there is a change in circumstances. It does not always have to be due to a disability or unemployment. Whenever there is a change income or any of the factors that play into a support order such as child care expenses, health insurance expenses, etc. you may need to go back to court have your support order recalculated. If you think you may have a change in circumstance that warrants a modification, always consult with an attorney.
For more information, please see:/Family-Law-Divorce/Child-Support/
Oftentimes people who have to pay child support do not understand why they have to pay the amount that they do. Sometimes they think that they can demand receipts for everything that their money is used to by for the child. In PA, the parent who has the majority of the time is the one who is entitled to receive child support. If parents have equal time, the parent who earns less is entitled to receive child support. There is no accounting required for expenditures except in the instance when the party is seeking additional money in unreimbursed medical expenses, or child care costs which are over and above the basic support obligation. While it may seem that several hundred dollars is more money than you would spend on the average child in a given month, the paying parent often fails to consider that the basic child support factors in basic needs including housing, electric, food, clothing that the primary parent needs to provide. When you consider the additional cost that a two bedroom apartment costs versus a one bedroom apartment, and the additional water or electric used, it becomes easier to understand and accept why the court orders the amount of support that they do and easier to accept that it is not a dollar for dollar tally of the expenses used for the child.
For more information about child support, please visit:
/Family-Law-Divorce/Child-Support/Oftentimes when people get separated or are going through a divorce, they like to consult their
friends and family who have gone through a similar situation for advice and what to expect. While it is a good idea to seek support from friends and family who can understand and relate to your situation, sometimes, it can be misleading as to what to expect. Every state has different rules on what factors they consider in determining support and how long and under what circumstances you will get support. The court might consider all the time your sister’s ex has custody of his child when determining how much the support number will be for child support but in Pennsylvania they really only care if it reaches at least 40% of the time. Unfortunately, this is why parents oftentimes will seek a custody order that gives the other parent just shy of this percentage since it means more money for them.
Also, you may have a neighbor who has one child and you find out how much your neighbor gets in child support and expect your amount will be the same. Child support, however, is based on household income, meaning, if your neighbor and her ex make more than you make and your ex combined, she is going to have a higher support order than you do most likely. Support is based on guidelines in PA which are based on household incomes. The parent who has custody of the child or children is the one who is entitled to support. If that parent earns more than the parent without custody, their support order will be lower than they would pay if they did not have custody. It is in proportion to the household income. There are also other factors that get considered such as child care, cost of health insurance, and extraordinary expenses that also get factored into support and can drastically affect the number.
While it is great to go to your friend or family for support and maybe even learn about where to file, how long you might have to wait and other issues, when it comes to figuring out the amount you can expect in support, it is best to consult a professional and also to consult the guidelines.
It is difficult to avoid the obligations that come with parenting a child. Paternity can be established in a number of ways including by acknowledgment, by genetic testing, or by estoppel. Once an acknowledgment of paternity is signed, it is very difficult for a father to then try to allege the child is not his. An acknowledgment acts as conclusive evidence that the person who signed the acknowledgment is in fact the father of any subject child(ren). A court order on paternity will follow if the genetic test results indicate 99% probability of paternity. Paternity by estoppel recognizes a man as the father based on his role in the child’s life rather than the biological connection.
A presumption of paternity arises where a child is born into an intact marriage. In that circumstance, absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, the husband will be deemed to be the father. However, in K.E.M. v. P.C.S., 38 A.3d 798 (Pa. 2012), Husband, though he had supported the child, acted as a father figure and was married to Wife at the time of birth, submitted to a paternity test which ruled him out as the father. Accordingly, the presumption of paternity was defeated. The establishment of paternity imposes the policies of the Uniform Parentage Act including strict liability for child support. In Wallis v. Smith, 22 P.3d 682 (2001), Father tried to avoid his support obligation on the basis that Mother had committed contraceptive fraud. In other words, the parties had an agreement that Mother would be responsible for birth control and subsequently stopped taking the birth control without alerting Father. The courts refused to relieve Father of his support obligation despite the parties’ alleged agreement. No state recognizes contraceptive fraud or failure to accurately practice birth control as a defense to child support.
Former military members may be eligible to receive a number of different veterans benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Possible benefits include disability compensation, pension benefits, life insurance, educational benefits and more. The former service member may also be entitled to additional benefits for dependents. Where the service member is also responsible for paying child support, certain benefits can be garnished to ensure the support obligation is met. The first step is to correctly categorize the benefit to determine if it is subject to garnishment. The second step is establishing a need on the part of the party seeking support and other dependents as well as a failure by the veteran to supply the need. Thirdly, the VA must be assured that there will not be an undue hardship on the veteran as a result of the garnishment.
Procedurally, the party seeking the garnishment must apply for an apportionment. The form asks for information on the total income, sources of income, and expenses for the veteran as well as the custodial parent. The VA will review the request for apportionment and determine if it is appropriate. In either event a formal decision will be rendered. The final decision can be appealed to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. The state child support agency will need to be involved with apportionment requests. Copies of the current support order and records of any arrears owed and former payment history will need to be supplied to the VA to review as evidence when making its determination on whether garnishment is appropriate and a reasonable amount to be garnished.
It can be difficult to catch up on support if a large arrears balance accrues. Unfortunately, sometimes the party paying support has good intentions to pay support but due to circumstances out of their control, end up falling behind. It may be possible to arrange a settlement to clear up an arrears balance. The settlement will generally involve a reduced total in exchange for a lump sum payment. Such an arrangement can be agreed upon between two private parties at any time. There is more gray area when the debt is owed to the State.
The majority of the states either have a fully implemented debt compromise plan or make a decision on debt compromise proposals on a case-by-case basis. The rationale in even allowing debt compromise is to increase the likelihood the states will receive some of the debt owed as opposed to no payment at all. Pennsylvanian and New Jersey both consider debt compromise plans on a case-by-case basis. In Pennsylvania, by rule of the Supreme Court, any compromise on debt owed to the state must be approved by court order.
Health insurance for minor children is an issue dealt with in the context of child support. If the children are presently covered under a plan through one of the parents, the children can remain on that plan. The other parent would then contribute to the premium being paid if applicable. This can be achieved by an increase over the guideline support amount if the party receiving support is paying the premium or a decrease if the parent who is receiving support is not the one providing the coverage. A change in which parent provides the coverage may be beneficial if one parent’s coverage is better than the other or less expensive but with similar coverage. Sometimes, the motive in changing plans is for the parent paying support to reduce the support paid directly to the other parent by adding the children to their plan instead.
If the children are receiving health insurance at no cost to either party it does not affect the guideline support amount. This may happen if one of the parents is employed by a company that covers 100% of the premium. This can also occur if the children are insured through a government program such as medical assistance or CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). Health insurance is only to be provided by one of the parents if at a reasonable cost. The court does not go so far as to mandate health insurance regardless of the financial circumstances of the parties. Again, thanks to programs like CHIP it is possible to ensure the children have health insurance even if the parents cannot afford it. However, even parents should reconsider the financial consequence of not having health insurance given the enactment of the Affordable Health Care Act and the penalties of failing to obtain health insurance going forward. Subsidies may be available based on income to ensure health insurance coverage at a reasonable cost.
One of the consequences of failing to pay child support is a suspension of your driver’s license. This can happen if support is overdue by three months or more. Advance notice must be given prior to the suspension. The notice specifies the past due amount, how, when and where it can be contested. Grounds for contesting notice of suspension are limited to mistake in the amount of past due support actually owed or mistaken identity. The suspension will occur after thirty days if there is no response, the past due amount is not paid or excused, or there is not a court-approved payment plan in place.
The available methods to have a driver’s license reinstated mirror those that could prevent a suspension in the first place. They include paying the past due amount, entering into a court-approved payment plan or being excused from the obligation. A driver’s license is not the only license subject to suspension. The court also has the authority to suspend recreational licenses issued by the Pennsylvania Game Commission as well as licenses issued by the Fish and Boat Commission. There is no right to appeal an order suspending a license. The only option is to petition the court that ordered the suspension for relief. Additionally, car insurers are prohibited from taking adverse actions, such as increased premiums or rate penalties, if a suspension occurs under 23 Pa C.S. 4355.
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