Child Support: Every Child’s Right, And One That Needs A Strong Defense

With some exceptions delineated below, child support is essentially a post divorce legal action ordered by the court. In short, under Alabama law, every child has the fundamental right to be financially supported, and every parent has the legal obligation to provide that financial support. At the Eversole Law Firm in Birmingham, Alabama, we have successfully handled numerous child support disputes to the satisfaction of our clients. Our firm’s founder, Steven D. Eversole, is well versed in this complex decision-making process and can serve as both guide and counsel. He will start fighting on day one to protect his client’s financial well-being… because no one, no matter what stage they are at in their life, deserves to have the rug pulled out from under them and their family.

How The Court Arrives At Child Support Calculations in Alabama

Several considerations go into the court’s calculation of child support payments. First and foremost is all the relevant income of the parent ordered to provide child support. If the parent is unemployed, the court will base its calculations on such factors as past earnings, likely future earning, the parent’s education, and more. Finally, the court is also free to cast aside some of the standard rules and consider other variables such as, just to cite one example, time spent between the child and one of the parents.

Immediate Help in the Short Term: Temporary Child Support Orders

Once a spouse files a petition for divorce, the court can provide a temporary child support order known as a Pendente Lite: this is the same as a regular child support order in every way save that it remains only in effect throughout the course of the divorce proceedings, and then gives way to whatever child support calculation is determined by the court at that time. As you might imagine, the purpose of the temporary order is to keep the divorce from violently shaking up the lives of the family involved, a notion we can all empathize with, especially where children are concerned. You can learn more about how Alabama courts handle this under Child Support Guidelines Rule 32

Terminating Child Support Obligations in Alabama

Alabama law states that child support obligations are essentially unbreakable except in such cases where the parent ordered to provide such payments abdicates his or her parental rights. One way for this to happen is for the court to forcibly take away those rights because of, for example, evidence of abuse. Another, more common avenue for the termination of child support obligations is if the parent rearing the child places it in adoption or gets remarried and the new stepparent adopts the child as his or her own.

Guardian Ad Litem

In child support disputes where the court believes a party other than the two parents is better suited to make decisions in the interests of the child, it may designate a guardian ad litem: a legal guardian specifically appointed to advocate on behalf of the child. Under Alabama law, the guardian ad litem is always an attorney. Steven Eversole has experience acting as a guardian ad litem, and also in helping clients challenge the decisions made by other guardian ad litems. This is one more example of how labyrinthine divorce law can be, and why you need a skilled, high-caliber attorney who will aggressively represent your interests.

How Is Child Support Enforced After The Divorce?

Each party is legally bound to comply with the child support order laid down by the court in the final marital agreement. The court, however, is not a monitoring or enforcement agency. Usually an outside government child support agency serves that function, but oftentimes it still comes down to one party taking the initiative to report another party’s failure to comply with the child support order. At that point the court can step in and, if the delinquent party can offer up no reasonable explanation, do anything from garnishing the party’s wages to sending the person to jail.