Child Support.
Child support following a marriage or a de facto relationship breakdown is a separate and standalone consideration to Financial Settlement and spousal maintenance. Strategic and technically precise advice is essential to ensure a party’s rights and obligations to receive and/or pay child support are properly identified, enforced and, where necessary, contested.
Sayer Jones’ advice on child support includes:
Advising on the interaction between child support, Financial Settlement and spousal maintenance;
Advising on assessments issued by the governing agency (Services Australia, often referred to as the “child support agency”), and the legislative formula applied to determine the sum of child support payable;
Preparing and negotiating Binding Child Support Agreements and Limited Child Support Agreements;
Conducting Change of Child Support Assessment applications, due to special circumstances, including high costs of children, and income capacity considerations;
Representing clients in child support objections, internal reviews and appeals, including proceedings before the Administrative Review Tribunal;
Applying for child support Orders to depart from assessments, known as “departure Orders” advising on applications to set aside Binding Child Support Agreements;
Acting for parties that continue to have the care of children over the age of 18, and where the provision of child support is necessary to enable completion of study or because of disability and medical needs;
Acting in international child support matters, including registration and enforcement of overseas liabilities.
Our focus is to ensure obligations are clearly defined and capable of being implemented and complied. Advice is required not only in complex Family Law matters, but also where child support issues appear straightforward and administrative:
For the parent receiving child support, proper assessment of child support and enforcement are critical to ensuring children are adequately provided for, noting each family’s circumstances and needs are unique.
For the parent paying child support, clarification as to the extent of a party’s obligations is equally important to avoid ongoing conflict and future financial security.