2024
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Our goal is to connect people with the best local professionals. We scored Chesapeake Child Support Lawyers on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analyzed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best.
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Featured Provider
Expertise.com Rating
Review Sources
Why choose this provider?
Bart Keil is a family law attorney that serves clients in Chesapeake. Keil guides divorcing or separating couples to reach a child support agreement that will serve the best interest of all parties. For child support negotiations, his team considers a number of factors, including the parents' combined income, child visitation schedule, annual financial support, and financial support percentage. He also handles cases involving child custody, divorce, and property division. Keil represents both domestic and international clients.
- Child Custody
Attorney Information
Attorney Name | Bar Status | Experience |
---|---|---|
Alfred Keil - Principal | Active | 48 yrs |
Expertise.com Rating
Review Sources
- 4.9
(8)
Why choose this provider?
Jennifer E. Reynolds, Attorney at Law, practices family law in Chesapeake. The firm represents clients in divorce, annulment, separation, and spousal support cases. A certified Virginia Supreme Court mediator, Reynolds offers her expertise in handling child custody, support, and visitation issues. Additionally, she represents clients in misdemeanor and juvenile cases and disputes between landlords and tenants. The firm helps clients create wills and plan their estates. Reynolds established her practice in 2005 after working for local legal firms.
- Child Custody
Why choose this provider?
For more than two decades, Hampton Roads Legal Services has been representing clients in the Chesapeake area. The firm provides legal counsel for family law issues like child support, which is computed by identifying the children's needs and the parents' net income. It also handles child custody and property division matters, along with cases involving chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy. Lead counsel Edrie Pfeiffer has more than 25 years of experience in handling bankruptcies and family law.
Expertise.com Rating
Review Sources
- 4.7
(69)
Why choose this provider?
Serving the Chesapeake area, Wood Hanna Law helps individuals face family legal matters. The firm represents parents in requesting child support. It guides clients in the calculation and enforcement of child support agreements. The firm also helps modify existing decrees to reflect new circ*mstances. Wood Hanna Law’s practice areas include divorce, child custody, and estate planning. Founding lawyer Elizabeth Wood has over 11 years of experience and has conducted more than 50 jury trials.
Why choose this provider?
Established in 1981, Commander Law is a family firm serving individuals based in Chesapeake. The firm represents clients in child custody disputes. It also manages child support collection and arrearages cases in court and proceedings with the Division of Child Support Enforcement. Commander Law’s practice areas include divorce and separation, mediation, child custody, and adoption. Founding lawyer Mary G. Commander is a member of the Virginia State Bar Board of Governors of the Family Law Section.
Expertise.com Rating
Review Sources
- Avvo
- 5.0
(13)
- 5.0
(10)
Why choose this provider?
Morris Williams is a legal firm with family law as its practice area. It takes on divorce, separation agreement, spousal and child support, and child custody and visitation cases presented by clients in Chesapeake. It also provides representation to help enforce court orders, secure protective orders, and defend alleged violations of judgments. One of the founding partners, Leslie A. Williams, served as Child Support Enforcement Agent for the Department of Social Services in North Carolina.
- Child Custody
Compare our Top Child Support Lawyers
Name | Expertise Rating | Address | Promotions | Learn more |
---|---|---|---|---|
Family Law Attorney - Bart Keil | 501 Independence Parkway, Suite 201, Chesapeake, VA23320 | View More | ||
Jennifer E. Reynolds, Attorney at Law | 441 S Independence Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA23452 | View More | ||
Hampton Roads Legal Services | 154 Newtown Road, Suite B2-100, Virginia Beach, VA23462 | View More | ||
Wood Hanna Law | 249 Central Park Ave Suite 300 Town Center, Virginia Beach, VA23462 | View More | ||
Commander Law | 5442 Tidewater Dr., Norfolk, VA23509 | View More | ||
Morris Williams | 425 W. 20th Street Suite 5, Norfolk, VA23517 | View More |
Disclaimer: Consumers utilizing Expertise.com are free to communicate and contract with any lawyer they choose. Expertise.com is not involved in the confidential attorney-client relationship. Featured lawyers pay a reasonable advertising cost to market their legal services with Expertise.com and must meet similar selection criteria as other lawyers. All cases are different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
FAQs
What does a child support attorney do?
A child support attorney is a specialized family law attorney who works primarily or solely on child support cases. These attorneys advocate for clients in a variety of situations, including seeking child support from a resistant partner, paying child support, or recalculating child support payment amounts. Often, child support law is an area of practice within a firm that also handles custody and visitation matters.
Can I file for child support without an attorney?
It is possible to file for child support pro se, or on one’s own behalf. This involves obtaining the necessary forms from the local family court and filling out all required paperwork carefully and on time. The court will then set dates for hearings, which usually must be attended in person. Parents filing without a child support attorney should thoroughly research child support and custody laws to put together a compelling and accurate defense. If you already have a court order, you can seek help in enforcing it from the local office of your state child support agency.
What is child support used for?
Child support is used to divide the financial responsibility for raising a child or children between two separated or divorced parents. This court-ordered payment is typically paid from the higher-income noncustodial parent to the lower-income custodial parent. It's intended to cover the costs of basic necessities for a minor and to maintain his or her standard of living. Child support may also be used to split unexpected expenses that occur during a minor's formative years. Definitions of basic necessities may vary by state.
When do child support payments start?
The administrative order from the state agency or court overseeing the legal proceedings will specify the start date of child support payments and may include retroactive payments. Depending on the state and the case specifics, child support may become effective on the date of the separation, at the time of the legal filing, or on the child's birth date.
What is child support based on?
How child support is calculated depends largely on the state of residence and whether custody is joint or sole. Although every case is unique, states may consider the following factors when determining the amount of child support:
- Number of children involved
- Allocation of parenting time
- Total income
- Spousal support
- Social Security and other public benefits
- Expenses for medical and dental insurance coverage
- Childcare costs
What is included in child support?
Child support funds are intended to pay for a child's essential needs. Child support attorneys may advocate as to what should and shouldn't be included in the order. The court may expressly define the expenses to be paid for to help both parties understand their responsibilities.
Child support may include the following items and services:
- Food
- Shelter costs, including mortgage or rent, utilities, and furnishings
- Medical expenses, such as medications, eyeglasses, and physician and dental care services
- Childcare services
- Educational expenses, including books, school supplies, uniforms, and field trip fees
- Extracurricular activity costs, such as summer camps, art supplies, or sporting equipment
- Entertainment costs
- Transportation and travel expenses
How can I check if I owe child support?
The court order outlines any obligations of child support. Additional questions about payments owed can be routed through the appropriate local child support office. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child Support Enforcement maintains a list of state agencies and tribal child support agencies throughout the United States and its territories.
Do women pay child support?
Yes. Gender doesn't typically factor into the child support equation. A father who has custodial rights to a child or children may receive support from the child's mother, particularly if she is the higher wage earner. In the case of same-sex couples where two women are raising a child, the noncustodial mother may be required to pay child support.
Can an attorney advise a parent or guardian to stop paying child support?
Child support is a source of financial assistance to a child, not to a primary custodial parent or guardian. As such, there’s no way to circumvent the law and stop paying support if it has been ordered by the court. Child support generally ceases when a child comes of age. However, if circ*mstances change financially for either parent, a child support lawyer can argue that the amount determined by the court should be reduced. It’s important to note that a deliberate situation, such as quitting a job voluntarily, is usually not a reason for reduced support payments. Judges generally require evidence that circ*mstances are out of the parent’s control, such as being laid off or furloughed from work.
How do I get child support when I have full custody?
Full custody comes in two different forms: legal and physical. A parent with legal custody has the unilateral authority to make all legal decisions on a child’s behalf. Full physical custody indicates that a child lives with one parent full time. A parent with sole physical and legal custody generally receives larger payments than a parent with joint custody. A lawyer can make an argument in court to ensure that the primary parent gets the support necessary for proper child care.
What is residential custody of a child?
Residential custody, also known as physical custody, refers to where a child lives. A parent who has full residential custody maintains a home for their child on a full-term basis. While the other parent may have visitation rights, they don’t have to provide any kind of permanent housing. In a joint custody case, however, a child may split their time between each parent, living a portion of the year with one parent and a portion with the other.
Do you have to be divorced to get child support?
No, a divorce isn’t required to receive child support. If parents are separated or have already started the divorce process, a parent and their attorney can move forward with filing for child support. Child support can be settled in a different court case outside of divorce proceedings.
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