Some of the most common concerns for divorcing parents revolve around child support—specifically who will be required to pay, and how much.
Unfortunately, since child support isn’t standardized, those questions don’t have easy answers. Instead, California child support payments are determined using an equation that factors each parent’s finances against the amount of time they spent parenting.
Here’s a little bit more about how child support is calculated in California, and how the team at Maples Family Law can help estimate what you’ll likely pay.
Child Support Overview
In California, child support can be defined as: money that one parent pays to the other for the purpose of supporting their child.
The need for these payments comes up most often during divorce and separation, however, it can also be applicable to unmarried parents in need of a structured parenting plan.
Child support amounts vary from family to family, and will ultimately be determined by your judge, in conjunction with state guidelines. Payments are almost always made by the non-custodial parent to the custodial one, and will be heavily influenced by the division of time outlined in your custody and visitation agreement.
The rules governing these calculations are laid out in the California Child Support Guidelines.
California Child Support Guidelines
In California, both parents have the obligation to support their child, according to their station and means—a burden they share in equal measure.
To help parents meet these obligations, the California Child Support Guidelines were structured with a twofold purpose:
To lay out a clear-cut, minimum level of support required for one child; and,
To make support calculations uniform across the board, regardless of income level.
By structuring the rules this way, California takes much of the guesswork and subjectivity out of child support, lessening the variability between cases, and making amounts (relatively) easier to determine, overall.
While judges do have the power to alter or adjust the final amount produced by the child support equation, they can only do so under certain, specific circumstances—all of which are also outlined and governed by state guidelines.
Calculating Child Support: Income and Custody
To calculate support payments, California courts use a complex equation that relies heavily on the interplay between the parents’ respective finances, and the amount of time each will spend with their child.
This requires you to know both your net disposable income, as well as your parenting timeshare percentage (as outlined by your custody agreement).
Net Disposable Income
A person’s net disposable income is calculated by taking their gross income, and adjusting that number for deductions. To do this, you will need the numbers for:
Your gross annual income (which is your pay before deductions);
All income tax deductions;
All payroll deductions (such as health care, union dues, and pensions); as well as,
Any childcare costs you have incurred.
Keep in mind you will need both your own net disposable income, as well as the combined numbers for both you and your spouse.
Custody Agreement
The other important element that’s critical to California’s child support equation, is your parenting timeshare percentages.
In California, it’s typical for the non-custodial parent to make support payments to the primary resident parent. This is because the primary resident parent (or “custodial parent”) is usually incurring higher costs by having the child live with them, full time. How much time, however, is critical to determining child support amounts.
As a general rule, the less time you spend with your child, the more child support you’re likely to pay.
Parenting time is something that you can decide on together, outside of court, through alternative resolution methods such as mediation. If you are unable to agree, however, a judge will decide on custody arrangements as part of your divorce.
The California Child Support Equation
Once you have the necessary financial and parenting time information, your child support can be calculated using this equation:
CS = K [HN – (H%)(TN)]
While this might look a bit scary, once you know which letters stand for what, things start to make a little more sense:
CS—child support.
K—the total amount of both parents’ income that will be devoted to child support. (A number that is based on evaluating how much each parent earns against the percentage of time each spends with their child.)
HN—which stands for “high net,” and represents the spouse with the highest net disposable income.
H%—the percentage of time that the high net parent spends with their child.
TN—the combined disposable income of both parents.
So, to put it a little more simply, child support (CS), equals (K). And to find out (K), you:
Take the high earner’s percent of parenting time (H%), and multiply it by your combined disposable income (TN). Then,
Subtract that number from the total disposal income of the high net earner (HN).
As you can see, even simplified, this is a pretty complicated process. (Which is usually why even the best of attorneys and judges take full advantage of the state’s child support calculator!)
Special Adjustments
According to the California Family Code, judges are allowed to adjust the final amount of your equation under certain circumstances, such as when:
You’ve both agreed to a different arrangement (and the judge deems it appropriate);
One parent has an extraordinarily high income, which (when plugged into the equation), results in an amount that far exceeds the child’s needs;
The amounts would be unjust (as determined by the judge);
Your parenting times are nearly equal, but there’s a significant disparity in wealth;
One parent is spending a lot more in housing for the child than the other;
The child has special needs or medicine; and,
Situations where the child has more than two parents.
Judges are also allowed to account for “add-on” costs, which include expenses incurred for:
Child care costs related to employment, education, or training for employment;
Uninsured health care expenses for the child;
Costs related to a child’s education or other special needs; as well as,
Travel expenses for visitation.
Finally, we should mention that the results of the above equation are only accurate if you have one child. For parents with multiples, further adjustments will need to be made based on the number of children you have, as well as how much time each parent spends with each, individual child.
For help navigating this confusing minefield, it’s best to talk to an experienced family law attorney, who can also ensure you get the most accurate estimates.
Child Support Attorneys in California
At Maples Family Law, we understand the unique challenges parents face when getting divorced, and want to do everything possible to help give your child the bright future they deserve.
If you have more questions about how child support is calculated in California, and what that might look like in your situation, we want to hear from you. Call us at (209) 989-4425, or get in touch online to schedule your consultation today, and let us ensure your child’s best interests are met.
It is an unfortunate reality that dissolutions involving children from the marriage can be the messiest variation of the dissolution process; even messier than a high-conflict dissolution involving substantial assets. It is important to bear in mind that the custody determination is motivated by the child’s best interests. As such, it is your best interest to not only affirmatively demonstrate that it is in your child’s best interest to remain with you, but also to avoid inadvertent conduct, which could be used to show that it would be detrimental to your child to remain with you. This article will address common pitfalls that parents encounter while requesting the Court to make custody determinations.
While many of these pitfalls should trigger your “well obviously” alarm, keep in mind that these occur frequently enough that an entire article had to be written about them.
Conduct Yourself as a Responsible Adult, at All Times
Dissolution is rarely a pleasant experience; you and your spouse are separating for a reason – reasons that were clearly irreconcilable. The process becomes exponentially less pleasant when the custody of your children is at issue.
Judges are aware that these situations are volatile in nature, and generally give parents a little leeway in how they conduct themselves at Court proceeding in relation to their ex-spouse; there are limits to this leeway however. In a round-about way, how you respond to high-conflict-stress reflects on how a Judge will perceive your abilities to properly parent and co-parent; something that is certainly included in determining a child’s best interests.
No matter how offensive or confrontational your spouse is, in and out of Court, you should always seek to take the high-road. This means never get close to a physical confrontation with your ex-spouse, never threaten your ex-spouse, and never express your anger in front of your child. All of this conduct could result in a denial of your request for custody and conditions on your visitation rights (i.e., supervised visitation).
Your responsibilities are not limited to the Court, you should always conduct yourself as a responsible adult in order to improve your chances that the Court will determine that it would be in a child’s best interest to remain with you. This means avoid posting photos on social media of you participating in irresponsible conduct, your ex-spouse will find it.
Example: Mary, who currently has custody over her daughter, likes to go out with her friends. Moreover, Mary frequently shares photos of her nights out with her friends. Over the course of 5 days, Mary posts several pictures of her smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol with her friends. Dan, who is seeking to modify the custody order to gain custody over his daughter, prints out these photos and shows them to the Court arguing that Mary would rather go out and get drunk all week than raise her daughter. The Court orders Mary to submit to drug testing and a condition of her custody.
While this is an extreme example, the point should be clear; what you post on social media will be used against you at some point.
Always Be Current on Your Child Support Obligations
Courts in California are very strict about parents meeting their support obligations to their children and will frequently use non-payment as the basis for significant restrictions on custody and visitation rights.
It is critical that you make timely child support payments every month. The Court will not show you leniency if you argue that the payments were too high after-the-fact. If the payments are too high, or your circumstances have changed, you must file a motion with the Court to modify your support obligations. The Court will work with you, if you give them a reason for why the support amount is to high, particularly where you can show that you have made significant efforts to meet those obligations. In custody cases, doing nothing and hoping for the best will never turn out well.
Always Communicate With Your Spouse Regarding Vacations
As mentioned at the outset, chances are you do not get along with your ex-spouse. It is natural to avoid communicating with them when you can, as there is a good chance it will devolve into an argument. Pair that with the flawed reasoning that they’re my children too, and it is easy to understand why parents frequently take their children on vacation (during their time with the child) without informing the ex-spouse; do not do this.
The Courts are concerned that a parent may use a surprise vacation as a pretext for kidnapping the child; it happens frequently. Similar to (2) above, the Court will not extend any leniency to you if did not even try to inform your ex-spouse and obtain consent for a vacation. The penalties could be incredibly harsh as well – you may even lose custody and be forced to submit to supervised visitation.
Always Respect the Court’s Determination
As is clearly the case, you or your ex-spouse are not going to be happy with the Court’s determination. What is truly mind-boggling, is that some people simply disregard the Court’s determinations when the outcome is unfavorable to them; do not do this.
As an initial matter, a Court order has the full effect of the law; your opinion on the matter is wholly irrelevant until another order is made. Therefore, it is critical that you comply with the Court’s order down to the smallest details. Failure to comply with the Court’s order could subject you to civil (or criminal) contempt, sanctions, and ultimately unfavorable rulings in the future.
Remember, you want the Court to understand that it is in your child’s best interest to remain with you; the Court is unlikely to believe that if you are unwilling to comply with their orders.
Don’t Forget Your Children Need You To Put Them First
As mentioned above, dissolutions involving children are very messy. Parents frequently feel like their entire world is falling apart; the stability of a spouse is gone, your finances are in limbo, and you don’t even know how often you will get to see your own child.
You can’t allow this turmoil to impact your ability to put your children first, a divorce is an even scarier reality for them – children depend on stability, and nothing is less stable than having their parents separate.
To that end, you don’t need to like your ex-spouse, but keep in mind that your ex-spouse is also going to be involved in raising your children going forward. You will need to show the Court an ability and willingness to co-parent with your ex-spouse, or the Court may deny custody to you.
This does not mean that you need to be friends with your ex-spouse, it simply means that you need to respect that they are also important in your children’s development. As such, it is essential that you refrain from attacking your ex-spouse’s character in front of your children. Further, always allow your ex-spouse their visitation time, regardless of whether they are in compliance with their obligations; the proper process is to inform the Court of their non-compliance and seek a modification to an existing order.
Don’t Forget the Status Quo
The Court’s primary concern is the best interest of the child, and it is generally accepted in the psychology of children that a stable living situation is critical. Thus, the Court pays very special attention to the status quo when making their custody determinations.
If the situation seems to be working well, with no significant negative impact on your child, the Court will be incredibly hesitant to issue an order changing the situation.
Example: Sam, the son of Mary and Dan, has been going to school with the same group of kids for the last 10 years. After the dissolution, Mary is planning on moving to another district, which would require Sam to change schools. Sam had straight A’s, a large group of friends, and was involved in numerous after school activities in the area. Mary is unlikely to be awarded custody in this situation, because the Court does not want to upset a situation that is benefiting the child.
The take away from this example, is that if something becomes the norm and doesn’t harm the child, the Court is likely to enshrine that norm in a Court order.
Don’t Forget That You and Your Attorney Are on the Same Side
Child custody is not the type of situation where you should represent yourself, the stakes are simply too high. To that end, conduct research and don’t be afraid to ask potential attorneys the hard questions – they appreciate a client who takes their case as seriously as the attorney will. \
There will be times where your attorney has to inform you of unfortunate truths and make suggestions that will be difficult and unpleasant to comply with. The lawyer is not doing these things out of malice, they are doing it to help you obtain the best outcome possible. Never lie to your attorney. California has the strictest attorney-client privilege rules in the country, and nothing you tell them will be conveyed to anybody else. Your attorney is not there to judge you, they are there to assist you.
If you are contemplating a dissolution involving children, please do not hesitate to contact us at (209) 910-9865 for a consultation.
