Establishing Child Support and Alimony Arrangements That Are in Our Clients’ Best Interests
Starting the next chapter of your life after divorce requires strength and perseverance. But it also requires the financial resources necessary to provide for yourself and your children. Ensuring that children have what they need to grow and thrive is the job of both parents. When those parents divorce, allocating financial responsibility between them for their children – and themselves – can be contentious and complicated. While child support will always be required in a Connecticut divorce, calculating the amount of support is not always simple. An award of alimony or spousal maintenance is never a given, and whether one spouse will be required to provide financial assistance to the other is often one of the most acrimonious issues in a divorce. Similarly there is often disagreement as to how long alimony will be paid.
At the Law Offices of Wayne D. Effron, P.C., one of the preeminent divorce and family law firms in Connecticut, we use the experience and insights gathered over almost four decades of practice to put in place alimony arrangements that are advantageous for our clients. Knowing that the well-being of our clients’ children is of paramount importance, we also use our knowledge of the law to establish child support obligations which are fair and equitable while also ensuring that the children have stability and economic security going forward.
Connecticut Child Support
In Connecticut, judges use mandatory guidelines to enter fair and consistent child support orders. Even though these guidelines do not directly apply to couples with very high combined incomes, they nevertheless set a ceiling and a floor as to how much child support may be paid for families with high earners. These state regulations establish a mathematical formula to set the child support payment amount based on the combined income of the mother and the father and the number of children. The guidelines also provide a formula for allocating childcare costs between the parents.
Judges in Connecticut must follow the guidelines, unless they make a specifically explained and justified deviation from those guidelines based on the evidence and circumstances of the particular case. Often, applying the guidelines can be a matter of simple math, with little basis for dispute between the parties. Sometimes, however, disagreements can arise as to the applicable amount of income to be used in making those calculations. Such issues can make the outcome a matter of whose attorney knows how best to apply the law and engage in complicated economic and income analysis. Almost 40 years of experience doing just that, in cases involving large and complicated income calculations, allows us to attain positive outcomes for our clients and their children.
Alimony in Connecticut
Also called spousal maintenance, alimony in Connecticut is typically awarded to the spouse who earns less income as a way of balancing economic inequalities that may exist at the conclusion of the marriage as well as to give each spouse the opportunity to move forward successfully.
In determining whether alimony will be awarded, and what the duration and amount of any such award will be, a Connecticut judge will consider several factors, including:
- The length of the marriage
- The causes for the dissolution of the marriage
- The parties’ respective age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income
- Each spouse’s earning capacity, vocational skills, education, employability and estate
- The needs of each party
- In the case of a parent to whom the custody of minor children has been awarded, the desirability and feasibility of such parent’s securing employment
As with child support arrangements, we apply our extensive experience and skilled advocacy to spousal support issues in a way that benefits our client.
Consult With the Law Offices of Wayne D. Effron, P.C. About Child Support and Alimony Matters
Since 1979, the Law Offices of Wayne D. Effron, P.C. has provided exceptional client service and results in divorce and family law matters in Greenwich and Fairfield County.
If you have questions or concerns about child support or alimony, please call us at our Greenwich offices at 203-622-1160 to arrange for a consultation. We look forward to assisting you.
