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[Divorce]
[Child Custody]
[Visitation]
[Child Support]
[Spousal Support]
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Child Support (or Family Support)
In California, whether it is pursuant to a
dissolution or legal separation matter, or a
parentage action (i.e., the biological
parents where not married), child support is
the amount of money that the court will
order one parent to pay the other parent for
the support and care of their minor
children. Such support is generally
required until the particular child reaches
the age of 18, or until the child is
emancipated and able to support him or
herself. Child support also pertains to
past due obligations owed by a parent
(arrears) that may arise due to a court
awarding retroactive relief (e.g., a court
order for support made applicable prior to
the hearing awarding the support) or in
those cases where a supporting parent has
fallen behind on the monthly payments, which
may have serious financial consequences if
the arrears are high.
Unlike spousal support, which is subject to
discretionary review by the court as to
whether to make such an award and the amount
and duration, child support is mandatory
since a parent’s first and principle
obligation is to support his or her minor
children based on the parent’s circumstances
and income. Although both parents are
jointly responsible for supporting their
children, when there is a divorce or legal
separation, the parent with the higher
income and less custody or visitation
generally is the party who is ordered to pay
monthly child support to the custodial
parent. Such support is generally made
pursuant to a wage garnishment, which is
served on the supporting parent’s employer.
Under the Family Law Code, the child support
is determined by the respective incomes of
the parties, the percentage of time the
child spends with each parent (generally one
parent has primary custody) and the number
of children of the marriage or
relationship. In California the judges use
a computer program (referred to as
DissoMaster) to quickly input such factors
and in order to calculate the statutory
amount of support that is ordered. Once
these factors are properly determined, the
court is required to award the statutory
amount of child support, which is called
Guideline. |
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