Family Law

When you face legal matters that involve your family, it is more than just another court case. Family legal issues can be taxing on you both mentally and emotionally, making it harder for you to make the best decisions and get your desired outcome.

Mr. Santarpia has years of experience in helping clients deal with legal issues involving family. He can represent you in any family court matter, including custody, visitation, child support, modifications and paternity.

Custody and Visitation

Multiple factors are involved in determining the custody of a child after a divorce, or in any circumstance in which the parents are not together. The financial ability to pay for the child, the ability to be physically present to care for the child, and past behavior all play a part.
While working out an arrangement with the child’s other parent is always ideal, it is not always possible. Mr. Santarpia can represent you in mediation or in court when you are trying to work out a custody and visitation arrangement.

Child Support

Like custody and visitation, multiple factors come into play when determining child support. Each parent’s work status, health status, and ability to pay for the child’s needs are just a few of those. Getting enough child support to ensure the needs of a child are fully met is the court’s top priority.
While working out a child support arrangement may be done through mediation, you may also choose to take the matter to court, where the judge will look through the financial situation on both sides and determine the support amount for you.

Modifications

Many people fail to realize that custody, visitation, and child supports do not have to be permanent. After these agreements are put into place, many changes can occur.
When circumstances change, so should arrangements. If one partner gets a higher-paying job after the determination of child support, for instance, it may make the most sense for the other partner to pay more. Child support agreements can be modified to raise or lower the amount of support, dependent upon these and other changes.
Likewise, custody and visitation arrangements may be modified as circumstances change.

Lawyer drafting a legal document

Paternity

If there is some doubt as to paternity of a child, that doubt must be legally eliminated before the court will move forward in any other process involving custody, visitation, or child support. Whether you seek to prove your paternity or prove the paternity of an ex-partner, Mr. Santarpia can help you file and represent you in court in a paternity dispute. Contact him today.

Contact our office

To schedule a consultation, kindly complete the form provided below.