Determining Support

Protecting Your Financial Future

When spouses divorce or separate, the issue that often raises the greatest anxiety and controversy is how much you will pay or receive in support — whether it be child support or spousal support.

Our firm is well versed not just in the basic issues of support, but in navigating and resolving the most complex issues facing spouses and parents in determining the legally and factually appropriate amount of support. These issues include:

• The determination of the amount of business income available for the payment of support;
• Identifying and appropriately accounting for “phantom income” when a party is taxed on income that is not distributed by a pass-through entity;
• Working with vocational evaluators and labor market researches to determine when, and how much, income should be imputed to an unemployed or under-employed spouse;
• The appropriate treatment of equity compensation (options, RSUs, ISOs, etc. ra) in determining income for support purposes; and
• Handling deviations from child support guidelines as a result of the payor being an exceptionally high earner.

Experience that Matters

Our attorneys routinely encounter, analyze, and resolve these and other family law issues relating to determining child and spousal support. That depth of experience and knowledge assist both support-paying and support-receiving clients in protecting their financial futures.