Calfornia Child Support Rights

How much child support am I going to pay?
By: Temecula Family Law and Divorce Lawyers practicing in the Hemet, Murrieta, and Temecula areas of Riverside County, CA

Child support is money paid on behalf of the child to ensure the child shares the lifestyle and living conditionChilds of each parent. California calculates child support pursuant guideline child support. Computer programs are used to arrive at the proper figure.

The amount of child support ordered will depend upon how many children you have, each parent’s tax filing status, each parent’s earnings, any "add-ons," and a number of other, miscellaneous factors.

Child support add-ons are ordered above basic child support. This includes one-half of any uncovered medical and dental bills, and one-half of any day care expenses. Add-ons do not include payment for any extracurricular activities; the parent who has custody of the children is expected to bear the entire cost of the children's extracurricular activities, as that is the purpose of the court ordering child support.

In awarding child support, a court only looks at each parent’s gross and net earnings, not amount of a parent’s car payment, house payment.

The more a parent sees his/her child, the less support he/she pays. Sometimes, if the parents share joint custody, neither parent will be ordered to pay support. There is no way to know what how much child support a parent will pay the other parent until custody has been established. The court has the ability to "impute" income to a parent who does not work. This means that the court can calculate child support, not on what the person is earning, but what that person has the ability to earn. If one or both parents has other children, they will be taken into account in calculating child support.

Child support will take away a significant part of each parent’s income, and must be budgeted appropriately. Except in very rare circumstances, the courts do not have the power to order anything other than guideline child support. If the child support ordered is more or less than Calif guideline, you must file an Order to Show Cause and ask the court to modify your support. If either parent's income changes, the parent whose earnings have decreased should immediately file and Order to Show Cause. Since child support is based upon the amount of each parent’s earnings, if either parent earns more money than when the order, guideline child support will change.

You and the other parent can agree to any amount of support if the child support order is in writing and signed by a judge. Child Support is owed until the child is emancipated, is age 18 years and no longer a high school student, or until the child reaches the age 19 if the child continues to attend high school on a full-time, whichever occurs first. There is no requirement to pay child support until that child graduates from college.

Child support arrears are due forever until paid in full. There is no statute of limitations on collecting child support. Child support can be enforced by placing a lien on the payor’s home, levying his/her wages, and seizing any assets he/she has in the bank.

If you are in the Temecula, Murrieta, Hemet or Riverside areas and have additional family law questions, please contact our office for a free consulation at (951) 816-9543. Otherwise, visit our websites: http://www.temeculadivorce.com/ or http://www.familylaw-riversidecounty.com/ or http://www.familylawyerintemecula.com/