Dear Dad:
"Child Support" has become the bad word for fathers (mostly), and often times, a glorious payback for Moms. With a large majority of my clientele Fathers, and about 50% of my law practice focused on family law, the issue of child support is met with contempt, disdain, and complete anger at the obscurity of the final support figures. While there are some Moms who pay support, this information is mainly geared towards the fathers who have given up on the system and the complex challenges it often leaves behind.
Breathe. Lose the "Baby Momma Drama". And let's talk.
The same contempt that showers most fathers often leads them to abandon the system, and let the system stick it to them in whatever form it sees fit. Too many fathers never contest the figures, never question the accuracy of the formula, and never think to MODIFY that dollar amount.
Here are some quick tips to ensure that Child Support does not leave a sour taste in the mouth of some very wonderful, involved, and loving Dads.
1. ALWAYS answer court dates. Not showing up for court does not make the matter go away. It does not mean the Friend of the Court will be helpless and will be blind in determining your income or what your contribution will be in the form of child support. Friend of the Court in the various counties have a multitude of resources to determine where you live, where you work, your income, and other information that is necessary to initiate a child support action. Your Social Security Number is like an automatic GPS device. It will find you! In fact, your failure to show gives Mom an opportunity to make some very high guesstimations about your income, and often times, Friend of the Court will take this information as true. So protect yourself. Be present. Be heard.
2. Child Support Correlates with Parenting Time. While I don't suggest using it as a tool for the slick, parenting time does impact child support. In the State of Michigan, normal parenting days are insignificant...its OVERNIGHTS that count. The standard number of overnights is 75 for the non-custodial parent but this number can vary. It's important to ensure that if you are splitting the child or children nearly 50%, that the child support formula reflects an accurate number of overnights. Don't forget to consider several summer weeks, school breaks, and alternating holidays. Additionally, consider requesting a week day each week to not only boost your parenting time, but also makes for a very involved parent when it comes to a child's weekly activities and education.
3. The Child Support Formula is Just That...a Formula. There are a multitude of variables that go into the final child support figure. The formula, at least in the State of Michigan, takes several things into consideration, including, but not limited to, tax filings. other dependents, any payroll deductions, union dues, who is paying health insurance premiums and in what amounts, overnights, child care, and other factors that can reduce your gross income. Be attentive to these factors, know how much you expend in these areas, and be sure that they are included in the formula.
4. Public Assistance is Not the Default. The economy has over populated the need for government assistance and with no checks and balances, parents are applying for help in the form of food stamps, Medicaid or cash assistance. THIS IS NOT FREE MONEY!! The government will be making their rounds and you will surely be paying this money back. KNOW if the other parent is receiving government assistance. If one parent is receiving government assistance for the children and child support, make sure you are not going to be held liable for the supplement they are receiving. Where health care is available through the employer of the Payer of support, make sure there is no double-dipping on the part of the parent recipient.
5. Request a Modification When There is a Change of Circumstance. Be proactive when it comes to ensuring that the child support payment is an accurate reflection of your income. If there has been a change in jobs, change in pay rate, layoff, disability that prevents working, or any change of circumstance that constitutes a modification to the child support being paid, FILE THE PROPER PAPER WORK. If you know about the sound we often mock of the Charlie Brown adults, that is the sound you are making to a judge when you come in and claim after non-payment, that you could not afford to pay. File for a modification.
6. Arrearages Are Dangerous. A child support arrearage can cause unbelievable distress. An arrearage is a past due amount of child support that can date back months, or several years. It is not unheard of to have outstanding arrearages upward of $100,000 for individuals with multiple children who never had any form of solid employment that Friend of the Court could capture. It often stems from incarceration, illegal occupations, jobs that pay under the table, or even from a child where paternity is in dispute or never established. Outstanding arrearages can result in a felony on your record when the amount reaches a threshold, driver license suspension, occupational license suspension, garnishments, and other penalties that can make earning even more difficult. Work to get on a payment plan for arrearages. Each County and State is different so know what programs and options are available. Also, be attentive to the effective dates of child support orders. A quick note to remember is that in the State of Michigan, a child support order can go back all the way to the date of the original motion filing or complaint filing--making an arrearage almost unavoidable.
This abridged version of Child Support is not meant to be comprehensive, but should give you a few tips to remember if you are the recipient or Payer of child support. My experience has taught me that the system will set you up to fail if you are not inclined to combat it with a good understanding of the law, a good understanding of your rights, and an even better understanding of the what role you can play in determining that final support figure. Friend of the Court is not error proof. They often make mistakes but rarely are they called out about them.
Your children have a right to support, and it can't be bargained away, but accuracy is in the best interest of all parties.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Organizing Tips For the Solo Practicing Lawyer
If you are a solo practicing attorney, being organized is an indispensable attribute! If you are like me, and you are your own secretary, you do your own research, drafting, billing and collecting--one false move can mean disaster. A solo practitioner must understand that running a business can be even more essential than your lawyering skills...because if your business fails, there won't be much room for lawyering anyway.
Starting off each day with a list of "to do's" is critical. Consider all of the areas of your business that require attention and separate these areas with tasks for the day. For example, in my practice, there are certain aspects of my practice that require daily attention. Topic areas such as DRAFTING, BILLING, CALL-BACKS, RESEARCH, LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT, E-MAILS, are some examples of areas that usually have a number of tasks that I tend to each day. Customize your topic areas to fit the nature of your practice. Under each heading, list the tasks that need to be done. The more topics, the more detailed your lists will be, and the less likely it will be that a task will get overlooked.
When a large portion of your practice is spent at the court, your time for managing your practice is minimized. Invest in a multi-functional SMARTphone. If you operate out of a virtual office, or don't have a receptionist, consider a 24-hour answering service that has the capacity to send you emails or texts of your calls. I'm no tekky, but my iPhone coupled with my iPad is a wonderful thing! The new iCloud feature allows all the apps, downloads, documents and activity that happens on one device, to be easily available on all the other devices. That means that if I've made changes to my calendar on my iPhone, those changes will be ready and waiting when I open my iPad!
Follow up with potential contacts and clients immediately. When most of your networking takes place and you meet potential clients or contacts, your follow-up can often get lost in the day-to-day life of a practicing attorney. But take time out of each week to follow up with potential contacts even if its just to tell them how good it was to meet them. Those connections go a long way and show people that connecting with them meant something and has some value.
Pass It On! There's nothing like being the Mentor you didn't have! When indulging in a new practice area or a new matter, create a STEP-by-STEP log of procedures and processes that will not only be a guide for you later, but can be an unofficial manual for those lost souls that may need your help later on. Not to mention, one of the biggest problems with solos is that teaching a secretary how to run your practice becomes so time consuming that you just as well do things yourself! If you have some modus operandi that can steer your ship when you need assistance, you have just made your job of teaching that much easier.
Return Calls within 48 Hours. One of the biggest complaints lawyers get is that they don't return phone calls. Clients need communication. Communication to a client translates into "the lawyer I paid is working for me." Keep the client informed about the status of his or her case. Lack of communication often means that the lawyer has not done what he or she has agreed to do, is delayed, and is avoiding the client. A good way to avoid this pitfall is to designate one day a week and designate a time for client communication only. This could be a short, brief letter updating the client, or this could mean an automatic cc: of any and all correspondence that goes out on every case. Can you imagine how important this must make the client feel? They are now part of the process. They are not learning of information for the first time on the date of the hearing, or worst, when they are informed by the court or a third-party before being informed by their attorney.
You are a business owner. Managing your law practice takes an attention to detail, and a skill that will improve with time. An older lawyer told me once that if you're not willing to put money into your business, your business will not make money for you. He was right. Your law practice reflects the value you put into it. You may not have a 100-attorney law firm, but your client does not have to know that. Manage your practice as if you want it to be a profitable business for you. Think about expansion and the bigger picture. The new law practice management center launched by the State Bar of Michigan is an excellent starting point. http://www.michbar.org/pmrc/content.cfm
Starting off each day with a list of "to do's" is critical. Consider all of the areas of your business that require attention and separate these areas with tasks for the day. For example, in my practice, there are certain aspects of my practice that require daily attention. Topic areas such as DRAFTING, BILLING, CALL-BACKS, RESEARCH, LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT, E-MAILS, are some examples of areas that usually have a number of tasks that I tend to each day. Customize your topic areas to fit the nature of your practice. Under each heading, list the tasks that need to be done. The more topics, the more detailed your lists will be, and the less likely it will be that a task will get overlooked.
When a large portion of your practice is spent at the court, your time for managing your practice is minimized. Invest in a multi-functional SMARTphone. If you operate out of a virtual office, or don't have a receptionist, consider a 24-hour answering service that has the capacity to send you emails or texts of your calls. I'm no tekky, but my iPhone coupled with my iPad is a wonderful thing! The new iCloud feature allows all the apps, downloads, documents and activity that happens on one device, to be easily available on all the other devices. That means that if I've made changes to my calendar on my iPhone, those changes will be ready and waiting when I open my iPad!
Follow up with potential contacts and clients immediately. When most of your networking takes place and you meet potential clients or contacts, your follow-up can often get lost in the day-to-day life of a practicing attorney. But take time out of each week to follow up with potential contacts even if its just to tell them how good it was to meet them. Those connections go a long way and show people that connecting with them meant something and has some value.
Pass It On! There's nothing like being the Mentor you didn't have! When indulging in a new practice area or a new matter, create a STEP-by-STEP log of procedures and processes that will not only be a guide for you later, but can be an unofficial manual for those lost souls that may need your help later on. Not to mention, one of the biggest problems with solos is that teaching a secretary how to run your practice becomes so time consuming that you just as well do things yourself! If you have some modus operandi that can steer your ship when you need assistance, you have just made your job of teaching that much easier.
Return Calls within 48 Hours. One of the biggest complaints lawyers get is that they don't return phone calls. Clients need communication. Communication to a client translates into "the lawyer I paid is working for me." Keep the client informed about the status of his or her case. Lack of communication often means that the lawyer has not done what he or she has agreed to do, is delayed, and is avoiding the client. A good way to avoid this pitfall is to designate one day a week and designate a time for client communication only. This could be a short, brief letter updating the client, or this could mean an automatic cc: of any and all correspondence that goes out on every case. Can you imagine how important this must make the client feel? They are now part of the process. They are not learning of information for the first time on the date of the hearing, or worst, when they are informed by the court or a third-party before being informed by their attorney.
You are a business owner. Managing your law practice takes an attention to detail, and a skill that will improve with time. An older lawyer told me once that if you're not willing to put money into your business, your business will not make money for you. He was right. Your law practice reflects the value you put into it. You may not have a 100-attorney law firm, but your client does not have to know that. Manage your practice as if you want it to be a profitable business for you. Think about expansion and the bigger picture. The new law practice management center launched by the State Bar of Michigan is an excellent starting point. http://www.michbar.org/pmrc/content.cfm
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