Child Support Attorney

Our Child Support Attorney at Sylkatis Law focuses on child support matters in Lorain, Elyria and surrounding communities.

Child support is the financial contribution one parent makes to another for the support of their children. Child support may be ordered when parents are separated, and/or in divorce, dissolution of marriage, paternity and legal separation cases.

First and foremost before child support can be established paternity must be established.  How is child support calculated? Child support is calculated according to a formula written into Ohio’s statutes. In simplest terms, the formula combines the parents’ gross incomes, makes allowances for certain income adjustments for the parents, and provides an amount to be used as the starting point for determining the child support.

However, if the combined gross incomes of both parents exceed $150,000 per year, the courts will determine child support on a case-by-case basis. The court will consider the needs and the standard of living of the child when determining the child support order.

Once the Lorain County Child Support Enforcement Agency establishes an order for child support the obligor (the person paying support) can file an objection though the Court of Common Pleas in their county requesting the Court deviate child support from the stated amount.  Some of the factors the Court will consider when ordering a deviation are: special and unusual needs of the children, extended parenting time or extraordinary costs associated with parenting time and the obligor obtaining additional employment after a child support order is issued in order to support a second family, to list a few.

Child Support Modifications
When there is significant change in the circumstances of a family such as loss of employment, birth of a new child, increase or decrease in the income of either parent or based on the needs of the child, a modification of a child support order may be necessary.