Arvada Child Support Lawyer

Colorado parents are required to financially support their children. While the state provides guidelines to assist parents in calculating their basic monthly support obligation, the worksheets and adjustments required can quickly cause confusion and mathematical errors.

Speak with an experienced Arvada child support attorney for assistance with your calculation. Doing so will ensure your monthly obligation and your co-parents’ obligation are accurate and meet Colorado’s statutory requirements.

Whether you need an initial child support order, an order modification, or an annual review of support, Danielsen Westhoff, PC, can help. Contact our Arvada child custody lawyers today for a free initial consultation.

Why Choose Danielsen Westhoff, PC, for Your Child Support Case?

The Arvada family lawyers at Danielsen Westhoff, PC, can handle the legal aspects of your child support case allowing you to focus on your child. Meet with one of our child support attorneys in a confidential consultation to review your rights and obligations under Colorado’s child support laws.

Danielsen Westhoff, PC, offers stand-alone legal services and full-service representation to meet your budgetary needs. If your child support matter is part of a larger case, like a divorce, we will gladly discuss those issues.

Call Danielsen Westhoff, PC, at (720) 739-1770, or send us a message online. We look forward to speaking with you and helping you avoid costly child support mistakes.

Colorado’s Child Support Guidelines

Colorado’s child support guidelines may be found in C.R.S. § 14–10–115. A parent’s basic monthly child support obligation is meant to cover child-rearing expenses such as housing, food, and clothing.

Calculating Child Support in Colorado

Colorado uses the Income Shares Model to calculate child support. There are three primary components in calculating child support under the Income Shares Model.

These are as follows:

  • Each parent’s Adjusted Gross Income
  • The number of overnights each parent spends with the child or children
  • The amount of money each parent spends on child-rearing (healthcare, daycare, and other typical expenses)

Colorado’s guidelines also take the following factors into account:

  • The number of children
  • The financial resources of the children
  • The financial resources of each parent
  • The standard of living the children would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved
  • The physical and emotional condition of the children and their educational needs

Reasonable child care costs are added to the basic child support obligation and divided between the parents in proportion to their adjusted gross incomes as are medical and dental coverage.

Extraordinary Expenses

Extraordinary expenses are not part of the basic child support calculation. Extraordinary expenses may be extraordinary medical expenses or extraordinary adjustments.

Extraordinary medical expenses are added to the basic child support obligation and then divided between the parents in proportion to their adjusted gross incomes.

Deviations from the Guidelines

The court may deviate from the child support guidelines when using the guidelines produces a child support amount that is “inequitable, unjust, or inappropriate.”  A deviation may be appropriate when a parent has an extraordinarily high income or a child requires special health or educational assistance.

Annual Exchange of Information

Parents are required to exchange information about their income, expenses, and financials every year for child support purposes.

Modification of Child Support

The court will consider a modification of child support modification when:

  1. There is a continuing and substantial change in the financial circumstances of a parent resulting in a change of 10% or more in the presumed amount of child support
  2. There is a change in the allocation of parenting time that affects the current order of support

Colorado requires parents to pay child support until a child reaches 19 or is emancipated.

Contact an Experienced Arvada Child Support Attorney Today

When you need a child support calculation you can rely on, contact the attorneys at Danielsen Westhoff, PC. We will make sure any monthly support obligations are calculated correctly and your child gets the support to which they are entitled by law.

You can reach Danielsen Westhoff, PC, in our Arvada office at (720) 739-1770, or fill out our online form.