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Obermayer Attorney Gets Justice in High Income Child Support Cases in Pennsylvania

June 19, 2018

Congratulations to Michael E. Bertin! On June 19, 2018, in the case of Hanrahan v. Bakker, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a historic decision which reversed a trend that was victimizing wealthy parents who were required to pay child support. Over the last eight years, because of a series of conflicting cases, statutes, and rules, child support in Pennsylvania for high income parents became not based on the needs of the children, but rather on an arbitrary formula. His client, the payor-father, wanted to pay a fair and reasonable child support order on behalf of his children. Michael orally argued the case on behalf of his client in the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg before the 7 Supreme Court Justices. After waiting approximately 7 months, the Supreme Court finally came out with its decision on June 19, 2018. The decision was unanimous. The Supreme Court changed the law and the policy of taking a percentage from the payor’s high income and reverted to the reasonable needs standard, as advanced by Michael at the oral argument. For more details, read The Legal Intelligencer’sarticle, “Justices: High-Income Child Support Calculations Require More Than Just Math.