Bristol County Child Support Lawyer
Representing Parents in Plymouth, New Bedford, Boston, Quincy, Hingham, Norfolk Counties, MA
The Law Offices of Rachel M. Matos represent parents throughout Bristol County, MA in child support cases. Whether you are a parent requesting child support or expect to be the parent paying support, our firm can advocate for your case. Child support calculations largely depend on both parents’ incomes, so high earners can expect to pay a fair amount of support. Attorney Rachel M. Matos can take a look at your unique situation and help you estimate the amount of child support you may be eligible to receive or to pay. Attorney Matos can also help you build a strong case for challenging the amount reached by the court, asking for an increase or a decrease.
Contact the Law Offices of Rachel M. Matos online or call (508) 206-9334 for an initial consultation to discuss your case in detail with our Bristol County child custody attorney.
How Is Child Support Calculated in Massachusetts?
Both parents in Massachusetts have a duty to support their child financially. The law presumes that the custodial parent who lives with the child provides for them in the day-to-day expenses and care for their child, so the noncustodial parent is the one who makes conventional child support payments.
The amount of child support the noncustodial parent must pay depends on:
- the child’s best interests;
- both parents’ incomes;
- their amount of parenting time.
Child support is meant to provide for the child’s daily needs, including health insurance and education. The court may also require high-earning parents to split the costs of private school and extracurricular activities if doing so is in the child’s best interests.
Child Support for High-Income Parents
Child support is a particularly important issue in high net worth divorces because it requires the calculation of both parties’ incomes. If the other spouse is a high-income earner, the court may consider whether they can support their partner to maintain the same lifestyle as they were accustomed to during the marriage. Similarly, if the children went to private school, the court may order the high-income parent to continue providing reasonable support for private tuition.
Massachusetts’ Child Support Guidelines
Like many states, Massachusetts implements child support guidelines for estimating support payments based on both parents’ gross incomes.
In the context of child support, gross income is money that can come from any source, including:
- wages and salaries;
- bonuses;
- dividends;
- royalties;
- pensions;
- military pay;
- disability benefits;
- Social Security benefits.
From the combined income of the parents, say, $150,000, the child support amount will be calculated by splitting the combined income proportionally. For example, if one parent earns $90,000 and the other $60,000, the first parent will have 60% of the responsibility, and the latter 40%. Be aware that the court may “impute” or assign an income value to a parent who is found to be intentionally unemployed or underemployed for the purposes of avoiding their child support obligation.
Note that the calculation guidelines vary based on the child custody and parenting time arrangement. The above calculation is based on the most common situation of a child having primary residence with one parent and spending time with the noncustodial parent around a third of the time. However, if the noncustodial parent spends less than a third of the time with the child, the court may increase the amount of child support they must provide. An experienced attorney can better help you estimate your child support amount based on your custody arrangement.
What Sets Our Firm Apart?
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Read What They Say About Us
At Law Offices of Rachel M. Matos, your satisfaction is our priority! See for yourself what our clients have to say about working with us.
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Really great service and really helpful to me and my family situation.- Erick T
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I was extremely grateful and bless for her service. Had great communication skills along the case. Treats her client’s respectfully. Most importantly she has the passion and thrive as an attorney.- Luis A.
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“I am so glad I found attorney Rachel Matos. From the very first phone call attorney Matos has been so diligent and helpful and always willing to help and offer me the guidance and support I need in order to fight for my daughter.”- Liolga A.
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I appreciate how diligent you and your staff are to help a very close friend of mine. We value your help and guidance during this difficult process. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.- Dixie R
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Attorney Matos was caring and super helpful. She was extremely professional and responsive to any questions I had. I am so thankful I was able to find her and she was able to take care of everyone of my needs.- Former Client
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Professional, organized and courteous when it came down to listening to what I needed from her in order to represent me on a private matter...Rachel Matos will get you the results you are looking for! You won't be disappointed.- Selvin Z.
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“She was always very professional, had great communication, and the outcome was the best!”- Manuella A.
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“The Law Offices of Rachel M. Matos is always willing to help, returns calls the same day, and knows what they are doing. Their professionalism is top-notch.”- R.V.
