CHILD SUPPORT
Child support is the amount of money the
court orders one parent to pay the other
parent every month for the support of
the child or children. California has
a formula (called a "guideline")
for figuring out how much child support
should be paid in all cases.
Child support payments are usually made
until children turn 18 or 19 if they are
still in high school full time, living
at home, and can't support themselves.
Parents may agree to support a child longer.
The court may also order that both parents
continue to support a disabled adult child
that is not self-supporting.
Although child support is based on guidelines
set forth in the California Family Code,
there are many factors that can affect
the ultimate amount of support. Understanding
the nuances of child support laws can
often help either the payor or the payee
benefit from child support litigation.
HOW IS CHILD SUPPORT CALCULATED?
California has a statewide formula (called
a "guideline") for figuring
out how much child support should be paid.
If parents can't agree on child support,
the judge will decide the child support
amount based on the guideline calculation.
The guideline calculation depends on:
* How much money the parents earn or can
earn,
* How much other income each parent receives,
* How many children these parents have
together,
* How much time each parent spends with
their children,
* The actual tax filing status of each
parent,
* Support of children from other relationships,
* Health insurance expenses,
* Mandatory union dues,
* Mandatory retirement contributions,
* The cost of sharing daycare and uninsured
health-care costs, and
* Other factors.
Once again, child support payments are
usually made until children turn 18 or
19 if they are still in high school full
time, living at home, and can't support
themselves. Parents may agree to support
a child longer. The court may also order
that both parents continue to support
a disabled adult child that is not self-supporting.
The amount of support to be paid by one
parent to the other is based on established
guidelines, as shown above. Computer programs
are available for helping parents to determine
who will pay such support, and how much
is to be paid. Significant factors include
each parent's income and the amount of
time each of you spends caring for the
children. This is a very complicated area
and usually is the cause for much disagreements
between the parties. In order to insure
that either you receive the proper amount
of child support or to insure that you
pay the proper amount of child support
you may want to consult with an attorney
trained in this area.
Such support need not be reported as income
for federal and state tax purposes, and
the parent paying such support is not
entitled to a tax deduction.
If necessary, you may request a wage assignment
order. This is an order that requires
a parent's employer to make child support
payments directly to the parent entitled
to receive support.
At the Law Office of Mark A. Reed we
are specially trained in all areas of
family law, including child and spousal
support. Please contact us for a free
consultation. 858-277-0232.
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