How Child Support is Determined

Two of the questions we are often asked is how child support is calculated and if it can be changed. California has published child support guidelines that essentially look at the parents’ income, disposable income, the number of children and the time-sharing arrangement, or how much time each spends with the child. The more time you spend, the less you presumably may have to pay though your time spent must be considered “quality” time so that your motivation is not to simply have to pay less to the primary custodial parent. The courts do look at what other expenses are incurred for the child including noninsured medical care, child care costs, educational and transportation fees, outside activities such as music lessons or sport teams and any special needs of the child.

If there are disputes over a parent’s claimed income, alleged parental time with the child or a parent’s seemingly unwillingness to seek suitable employment, then a lawyer from our legal group can advise you on what steps we can take to get a fair assessment of the circumstances involved.