Almost two decades ago, then President Bill Clinton proclaimed that August would be nationally recognized as Child Support Awareness Month. Child Support Awareness Month serves two general purposes by both acknowledging the good work of supportive parents while highlighting the delinquencies some parents impose upon their kids. It is a time when communities all across the country, as well as right here in California, recognize the importance of giving children a chance to make it in the world.
Many parents living in Stockton and the surrounding area struggle to understand how child support works and why the courts often impose it on them. Some counties in the state will be offering courses and workshops for parents to take to learn more about their child support obligations. Whether they are keeping up with their support orders or struggling to make payments due to financial burdens, parents can use these educational opportunities to supplement the information they receive from their family law attorneys.
Child support is a legal obligation that a parent must abide by in order to avoid potentially significant penalties. It is issued by a court that determines the best interests of the child involved and is computed based on that child’s needs and standard of living. Others factors figure into a child support award and are unique to the circumstances of individual child support cases.
Parents who are in child support disputes with their former partners may choose to work with family law lawyers to work out their problems. When parents simply stop paying child support they can open themselves up to legal scrutiny and potential sanctions. There are legal methods of modifying support orders to accommodate the changing needs of the relevant child as well as his parents’ financial health.
For readers who are subject to child support orders, now is a good time to review their terms to determine their functionality. Child Support Awareness Month reminds many that even if parents are not always with their kids they are still responsible for taking care of their needs. People who wish to improve their support orders may obtain expert advice on such processes from divorce and family law attorneys.
Source: Woodland Daily Democrat, “Workshops in August part of Child Support Awareness Month,” July 31, 2014
