Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Thank you for your question.

I would encourage you to schedule an office or telephone conversation with one of our attorneys. We can review the new child support guidelines with you and even prepare a mock child support guidelines worksheet to see what a court would be awarded in child support by the Court.

We charge $100.00 for an office or telephone consultation, and our consultation fee is applied toward your first bill if you decide to retain us for further work.

Based on the numbers you gave me and taking nothing else into consideration, the worksheet comes out to $175/week.

However, this does not mean a court would only order $175/week. The court takes many other factors into consideration, including, of course, the best interests of the child. The court also considers other obligations, parenting time, and many other intangibles.

You also did not state whether the $28,000 per year and the $800 per week income figures were gross or net. The worksheet requires gross figures.

You have a few options. First, you could pay any increase she requests simply to keep it all out of court. Second, you could refuse any increase she requests and let her bring an action for child support. Third, you could bring an action yourself, before she does.

There are many factors that go into making a decision like that. I would highly suggest you obtain a free consultation with an attorney, who can look at your situation in greater detail and recommend one of the actions above. If you would like to contact me, I would be happy to consult with you. My email is [email protected].

Of course, you can make a go of it on your own if you do not feel you require guidance. It is clear you want to do what is best for your child without being taken advantage of. Good luck.