Phoenix Child Support Lawyers

Experienced Child Support Attorneys Serving Parents in Phoenix and Maricopa County

Whether you are seeking child support, have been ordered to pay support, need to modify an existing order, or are dealing with enforcement issues, the process can feel confusing and stressful.

The Phoenix child support lawyers at Gillespie, Shields & Taylor help parents understand Arizona child support law, prepare accurate financial information, and pursue fair support arrangements that protect their children’s needs and their financial future.

Our attorneys assist with child support establishment, modification, enforcement, income disputes, high-asset support issues, and cases involving unpaid or disputed child support.

Understanding Child Support Under Arizona Law

Arizona Revised Statute § 25-320 allows courts to order one or both parents to pay an appropriate amount of child support to help cover the costs for caring for a child.

Child support payments help ensure that a child’s basic needs are cared for, including food, housing, clothing, medical care, and education. 

According to the statute mentioned above, these support payments are normally paid until a child reaches adulthood, which may be the child’s 19th birthday at the latest. 

However, there may be exceptions made for child support payments to extend beyond the child’s 19th birthday. For example, Arizona Revised Statute § 25-501 recognizes that a child with mental or physical disabilities may require child support into adulthood. 

If you need help understanding or applying the Arizona laws and statutes surrounding your child support case, our child support lawyers can help you.

Who Pays Child Support in Arizona?

Even though Arizona requires both parents to care for the needs of their children as found in Arizona Revised Statute § 46-401, the parent with less parenting time is often ordered to pay child support to the parent who has the majority of time with the child.

However, a parent’s income also plays a major role when establishing child support orders. Thus, a parent with equal or greater time with the child may also be ordered to pay child support if they earn substantially more than the other parent. 

Our Phoenix child support lawyers can review income, parenting time, financial records, and other relevant factors to help ensure the child support calculation is accurate and fair.

How Child Support Is Calculated in Arizona

Arizona child support is calculated using the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, which are designed to create a consistent framework for determining support.

These guidelines are revised by the Arizona Supreme Court at least every four years in order to ensure a fair amount is reached, as outlined in Arizona Revised Statute § 25-320 (D).

By examining each parent’s income, parenting time, and other factors, these guidelines create fairness and predictability while still allowing some room for adjustments in unique cases.

Key factors used in creating a child support amount include:

• Gross income of each parent
• Monthly income of each parent
• Number of children each parent has
• Parenting time (number of overnight stays per year)
• Costs of health insurance premiums
• Childcare expenses
• Education-related costs

Using these and other factors, judges can establish child support payments that care for the child’s needs without imposing an undue hardship on the parent. 

Our Phoenix child support attorneys can help review the calculation, identify financial issues, assess possible deviations, and work toward a child support order that is fair and enforceable.

Get Help Modifying Arizona Child Support

Arizona child support orders are not permanent. This allows child support orders to change when a parent’s income, parenting time, expenses, or the child’s needs change in a meaningful way.

Thus, Arizona Revised Statute § 25-327 allows for modification if there is a “substantial and continuing change in circumstances”. Additionally, the change must continue to be in the child’s best interests.

Examples of changes that may support a child support modification include:

• A significant change in either parent’s income
• Job loss or promotion
• A change in parenting time
• Increase in childcare or medical expenses
• Remarriage or additional children 

If your child support change is straightforward, you may request a modification through the Request for Modification Review, which involves completing a form and providing the required documents such as pay stubs.

More complex or contested modification requests may require additional legal steps, especially when parents disagree about income, expenses, parenting time, or the child’s needs.

In either case, our Phoenix child support lawyers can guide you through the process and help you pursue a fair outcome.

How Arizona Child Support Is Paid

Since support payments play a crucial role in the life and well-being of your child, Arizona makes sure these payments are not left up to chance.

Instead, there are a number of payment methods that are approved by the state to ensure they are regularly made each month.

Arizona child support is often paid through:

Arizona Department of Economic Security Portal
This secure online payment portal provided by the state allows parents to make child support payments using either a bank account or credit card.

Income withholding orders
For various reasons, a parent may have child support payments automatically deducted from their wages to ensure they are paid each month.

Direct payments
This arrangement is less common and usually discouraged due to potential disputes. For example, support that is paid directly to the other parent and not through a clearinghouse may not be fully documented. As a result, it may not be properly credited as a payment.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the child support case, these payment forms may be agreed on by the child’s parents, or they may be included in the court’s order.

Our Phoenix child support attorneys can help you understand payment options, address documentation issues, and seek enforcement or modification when payment problems arise.

What Happens When a Parent Does Not Pay Child Support?

Arizona courts take unpaid child support seriously because support is intended to protect the child’s needs and well-being. That’s why non-payment of child support is a serious legal issue in Arizona, resulting in significant consequences that can include jail time.

The Arizona Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) and the courts have several enforcement tools available to ensure child support is paid.

These enforcement tools include:

• Wage garnishment
• Seizing tax refunds
• Suspending driver’s or professional licenses
• Placing liens on property
• Reporting to credit bureaus
• Contempt of court charges, which can result in jail time

If you are the receiving parent and are not getting the child support you are owed, our Phoenix child support attorneys can help you seek enforcement. For example, we can help file an enforcement action to get the authorities involved in the matter.

At the same time, we can also help if you’re the paying parent and have fallen behind due to job loss or another unexpected hardship. If you are the paying parent and have fallen behind because of job loss, illness, or another hardship, we can help you evaluate whether a modification may reduce the risk of escalating penalties.

High-Income and High-Asset Child Support Cases in Arizona

Child support cases involving high-income or high-asset parents can be more complex than standard child support matters. These often involve families with business ownership, significant bonuses, real estate, or investment income. 

The issues often differ depending on whether you are the parent being asked to pay support or the parent seeking support.

If You Are a High-Income Parent Asked to Pay Child Support:
A major reason for a high-asset child support case’s complexity is due to the most recent Arizona Child Support Guidelines capping out at $30,000 in combined monthly income, effective Jan 1, 2022. 

That means if Arizona parents have a combined income of more than $30,000 per month, the courts are responsible for determining whether a higher amount is in the child’s best interests.

As a result, if you’re a parent with higher assets, you may be fully dependent on the court’s discretion when it comes to establishing how much you will pay in child support.

Our Phoenix child support lawyers can help you calculate accurate income beyond base salary, ensure support amounts reflect the child’s accustomed standard of living, and avoid overpayment due to inflated or temporary income.

If the Other Parent Has Significant Income or Assets:
In other cases, you may be seeking appropriate child support from a parent whose income, business interests, bonuses, real estate, or investments are not fully disclosed. 

When this occurs, our attorneys can uncover the high-asset parent’s true income amount, including hidden income or assets.

By using forensic accountants and formal discovery tools like subpoenas and depositions, we’ll help ensure your children are cared for as they deserve — and, when appropriate, pursue retroactive child support if income was hidden or misrepresented.

The attorneys at Gillespie, Shields & Taylor are ready to help you if you’re a high-asset parent or are facing a support issue with one.

Talk to a Phoenix Child Support Lawyer About Your Options

Child support matters can be confusing, especially when calculations, income disputes, parenting time, enforcement agencies, or modification requests are involved.

Additionally, your Arizona child support case may have a number of unusual factors, such as the other parent hiding income or tension between you and the other parent.

When you need trustworthy answers and legal guidance with your child support issues, let the Phoenix child support lawyers at Gillespie, Shields & Taylor help.

For more than four decades, Gillespie, Shields & Taylor has helped parents with child support establishment, enforcement, modification, and related family law issues.

So whether you’re seeking support, defending against excessive demands, or working through enforcement or modification, we can help you understand your options, develop a clear legal strategy, and move forward with confidence.