Child support · Augusta · Dublin · Statesboro
Child support should be fair. And it should actually get paid.
Maybe you are carrying the cost of raising your child alone while the payments never come. Maybe you lost your job and the order you agreed to no longer fits your life. Maybe you are setting support up for the first time, or you just got a notice and you are scared of what happens next. Whatever brought you here, there is a right way forward, and a wrong one. Attorney Kelly Brashear Kitchens helps parents across Augusta, Dublin, and Statesboro set up, change, and collect child support the right way.
Why waiting hurts
Child support problems do not fix themselves.
Every month a problem goes unaddressed, it gets harder to undo.
If you are owed support and not getting it, the bills do not wait. You cover the rent, the groceries, the school clothes, alone, while the amount you are owed keeps climbing and feels more out of reach. If you are the one who pays, and your income dropped, the order does not pause for your hard luck. Unpaid amounts pile up, and Georgia has real tools to collect them.
If you cannot pay, do not just stop. This is the mistake that turns a hard month into a lasting problem. A court order stays in force until a court changes it, and the past-due amount that builds up while you wait usually cannot be erased later. The right move is to ask the court to change the order, and to do it quickly, before the balance grows.
Whichever side you are on
We help with all of it, without judgment.
Child support feels like a fight about money, but it is really about fairness and about your kids. We help the parent who is owed and the parent who needs a change, because both deserve an order that reflects the truth of their situation. Here is where most people need us.
Set it up
Getting a fair first order in place, including when parents were never married and paternity has to be settled first.
Change it
Adjusting an order when income, costs, the parenting schedule, or your child's needs have genuinely changed.
Collect or defend it
Going after support that is owed and not paid, or standing up for you if you are being accused of falling behind.
How it works
How child support is figured in Georgia.
Both parents' incomes count
A lot of people think child support is just a slice of the paying parent's paycheck. In Georgia it does not work that way. The state looks at both parents' incomes together, figures a base amount for the child, and then divides it between the parents. Other costs, like health insurance and child care, get factored in too.
What changed recently
Georgia updated its child support rules in 2026, and one change matters for most parents: the amount of parenting time each parent has now figures directly into the support calculation. A lot of older information online has not caught up to this yet, which is one reason it pays to talk with someone who works in these cases now rather than relying on what you read a few years ago.
About that online calculator
Georgia has an official worksheet and calculator, and it is a useful starting point. But the number it spits out is only as good as what gets entered, and real cases have wrinkles, disputed income, a parent who is paid in cash, child care that comes and goes. The calculator does not know your situation. We do once we talk.
The three situations
Setting up, changing, and collecting support.
Setting up a new order
This comes up in a divorce, in a separation, or when parents were never married. If you were not married, paternity usually has to be settled before support can be ordered, and for fathers this often ties into legitimation, the separate legal step that also protects custody and parenting time. We can handle the whole picture at once.
Changing an order that no longer fits
Georgia lets you ask to change support, but generally only when something important has changed since the last order, like a real drop or jump in income, a shift in the parenting schedule, or a change in what your child needs. A bad month is not usually enough, and there are limits on how often you can ask. We will tell you honestly whether your situation clears that bar before you spend money chasing it.
Collecting support you are owed
When the other parent will not pay, you are not stuck waiting forever. The court has real tools, things like taking it straight from a paycheck, intercepting a tax refund, putting a hold on licenses, and in serious cases holding the other parent in contempt. We will help you use the right one for your situation.
Defending yourself if you are behind
If you are the one being accused of falling behind, do not ignore it and do not assume losing your job automatically fixed the order. Get advice early. There is often a path that protects you, but it depends on acting before the problem grows and the court's options narrow.
Come prepared
What helps us help you faster.
You do not need any of this to reach out, but if you have it handy, it makes that first conversation far more useful.
- Your current child support order or divorce decree, if one exists
- Recent pay stubs or proof of income for the last several months
- Your last couple of tax returns
- Child care and health insurance costs for the child
- Your actual parenting schedule, or any custody order
- A record of payments made or missed
- Proof of any job loss, cut hours, or other change in your situation
A common misunderstanding
The state office does not represent you.
Many parents assume the state child support office is their lawyer. It is not. That office can help with certain support services, but its attorney does not represent either parent, and it does not handle custody or visitation. When your support question is tangled up with custody, a divorce, or a parent hiding income, you want someone whose job is to protect your side of it. That is what we do.
The attorney in your corner
Why parents trust Kelly with this.
Kelly is a former Augusta prosecutor who tried more than 100 cases before turning her focus to helping families. She knows how these cases work from the inside, and she keeps the focus where it belongs, on a fair result for your child.
What parents tell us they remember is that she gave them the truth instead of a sales pitch. She told them when they had a strong case and when they did not, and she treated them with respect on the hardest day of their year.
Take the first step
Get clear on where you stand, today.
One free, confidential conversation tells you what your options are and what to do next, with no pressure and no judgment, whether you are owed support or you need your order changed. Texting is the fastest way to reach us, and we will get right back to you.
P.S. If money is owed or a balance is building, time is not on your side. The sooner we look at your situation, the more we can do about it.
Come see us
Three offices across the CSRA.
We help parents throughout Augusta, Dublin, Statesboro and the surrounding area.
Straight answers
Common child support questions.
Your child's support matters
Let's get this sorted out.
Send a text or give us a call, or use our contact page and we will reach out, in confidence.
The information on this page is general and is not legal advice, and contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Child support outcomes depend on the specific facts of your situation, Georgia law, and the discretion of the court, and no particular result can be promised. We serve clients throughout Augusta, Dublin, Statesboro and the surrounding CSRA.