In a divorce, emotions are running high. You might be angry at the other parent, wanting to make them pay, literally, for such an upheaval in the life of your child. When you’re thinking about child support, you might be wondering everything from how bills are going to get paid now to who’s going to pay for health insurance to who’s going to pay for college. You might need to find a new place to live or a new school for your child. Life doesn’t stop for a divorce.

However, the amount of child support that a noncustodial parent can be ordered to pay, under Missouri law, is calculated using a formula with a variety of factors, not the emotions at play. An experienced lawyer can help you make the most of this formula, and can help you enforce what the other parent needs to pay. Feel free to reach out to me for a personal consultation. We will find a time and place that will work best for you, and you won’t be disappointed.

Options for Parents who aren’t Married

Parents who aren’t married share many of the same concerns over custody as those who are, but unmarried parents have their own set of concerns that are often significant and unique. If you’re a father, you might be worried that your rights won’t be recognized or respected because you weren’t married. You want to protect your child, but you might wonder how to establish paternity or even how to file for custody of your child. If you’re a mother, you might worry about how to collect and enforce child support if you were never married to the father.

For parents who aren’t married, establishing paternity is one of the most important steps in custody issues. If paternity isn’t established, an unmarried father has no legal right to see their child or make decisions regarding them, even if they are paying child support. Without established paternity, an unmarried mother may have issues collecting and enforcing necessary child support.

I help people on all sides of even the most complicated child support, visitation, and custody cases. When your child’s future safety and happiness are involved, you want someone who will be on your side and fight for you. Please call me at 573-303-3015 or email me for an individual, private consultation with no obligation or pressure. Even if you choose another lawyer, I am certain you will gain knowledge from our conversation and be able to determine the best path to move forward.