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Q: How is child support determined?
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A: California has stringent support guidelines which consider many things, including but not limited to the: incomes of the parents, the needs of the child, the relative abilities of the parents to pay support, and each parent’s custodial percentage. Courts will generally follow the amount suggested by the guidelines unless a reason to depart from them exists.
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Q: Can I get child support if I never married my child's father?
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A: Yes. Both of a child's biological parents owe are required to financially support the child. In the absence of marriage, a genetic/ DNA test may be necessary to prove paternity. However, once paternity has been established, a court will award a support order.
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Q: When a father has custody, does a mother have to pay child support?
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A: Yes. Both of a child's biological parents owe are required to financially support the child. A court makes no distinction based on the gender of the custodial parent. When joint or shared custody exists, the court will weigh the relative earning capacity of each parent and make a support order accordingly.
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Q: If I have custody and make more money than my ex-spouse, can I still get child support?
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A: Generally, yes. However, the examination of the relative income and assets of both spouses may result in a small support amount.
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Q: My ex has moved and wants to use the laws of his new state to reduce his support obligation. Can he do that?
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A: No. Under the terms of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), adopted by every state, a person paying child support can not move to a different state to get a better support order. The UIFSA contains a provision ensuring that when more than one state is involved, the child support laws where the original support order was entered will be used to address ongoing support obligations.
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Q: I recently lost my job. Can I stop paying my child support until I get another job?
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A: No. Courts do not allow you to unilaterally decide the amount of child support you should pay. You will be held responsible for any missed child support payments. If you face difficulty meeting your child support obligations, it is your responsibility to obtain a modification of the effective order. Failure to do so may result in violation of a court order, potentially resulting in a fine, jail time, or loss of a professional license.
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Q: Can I terminate visitation if I am not receiving child support?
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A: No. Parenting time and child support ARE NOT linked. This is very important, so please note, PARENTING TIME AND CHILD SUPPORT ARE NOT DEPENDENT UPON EACH OTHER. Seldom will a court ever consider it to be in the best interests of the child to prevent contact with the other parent because of monetary reasons. Therefore, instead of preventing a parent from visiting with a child, the court prefers parents to exhaust their legal remedies (i.e. wage garnishment, or use of the child support enforcement office). Any attempt to keep a child away from a noncustodial parent for support reasons will be viewed negatively by the court and could have very negative consequences for the custodial parent.
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Q: My ex owes me back child support and is filing bankruptcy. What happens to the amount I am owed?
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A: Generally, child support payments cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. This means that the owed child support cannot be escaped merely by filing for bankruptcy. Therefore, you should be able to collect the support you are owed.
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Q: What happens to child support obligations when a parent paying child support under a court order has other children to support?
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A: In California, adjustments may be made to support obligations based upon the parent’s total support responsibilities. The creation of a second family or obligations under a separate support order will not eliminate the responsibility owed to other children. If the paying parent's income will not provide for both families or orders, the amount of overall support may be reduced so each valid order can receive a share of the support collected.
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