If you’re facing divorce, call 203-936-6772 at LAW OFFICES OF PIAZZA & SIMMONS, LLC to set up an initial consultation.

If you’re facing divorce, call 203-936-6772 at LAW OFFICES OF PIAZZA & SIMMONS, LLC to set up an initial consultation.

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Guiding People Through Divorce With Grace And Dignity For More Than 30 Years

Attorney Anthony A Piazza & Laura A Simmons

Guiding People Through Divorce With Grace And Dignity For More Than 30 Years

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Common Questions Regarding Child Support

If you’re going through a divorce, you’re almost certainly going through a difficult time. However, the most harrowing components of divorce are issues related to child custody and child support. Not surprisingly, many parents who are getting divorced have questions about child support. While every divorce is unique to its circumstances, the LAW OFFICES OF PIAZZA & SIMMONS, LLC can help you understand the specific laws Connecticut faces.

There are several issues related to child support that it’s advantageous to know more about. Here are some answers to some of the questions we hear most frequently from divorcing parents:

Does child support still play a role if my ex and I share custody?

Shared physical custody in Connecticut is designed to provide your children with substantially equal time and contact with both parents. This doesn’t, however, mean that the time your kids spend with each of you will be exactly the same. Often, the children of divorced parents will spend more overnights with one parent – even if both parents share custody.

Shared custody, however, does not preclude one parent from paying child support to the other parent. Connecticut has guidelines that calculate the amount the parent with the higher income will pay in child support to the parent with the lower income. This child support calculation can be reduced or eliminated in situations in which the shared custody arrangement substantially reduces the expenses incurred by the parent with the lower income or substantially increases the expenses incurred by the parent with the higher income – if the parent with the lower income has sufficient means to meet the children’s needs.

If a parent pays child support, is that the end of his or her financial responsibility to the children?

Child support is calculated as one parent’s contribution toward his or her children’s basic household expenses while living with the other parent. These expenses include such things as food, clothing and shelter. Child support is not, however, intended to cover every element of children’s needs. Expenses like work-related child care, extracurricular activities and out-of-pocket medical expenses aren’t covered by child support. Responsibility for the payment of such expenses will be split up between you and your ex during the divorce settlement process or in the divorce decree issued by the court.

Will I receive child support for my child until he or she turns 21?

In Connecticut, child support does not extend until your child turns 21. Instead, you will receive child support until your child reaches the age of 18. If your child is still in high school when he or she turns 18, child support will extend until his or her 19th birthday or until graduation (whichever comes first).

If You Have Questions About Child Support, Consult With An Experienced Attorney Today

The issue of child support is critical to every divorce involving children, and the dedicated legal team at the LAW OFFICES OF PIAZZA & SIMMONS, LLC, in Stamford, Connecticut, is here to help. Our family law attorneys care about you and your case, so please contact or call us at 203-936-6772 today.