How to Calculate and Modify Your Child Support

By Gerald A. Maggio, Esq.

Top Orange County divorce mediators; California divorce mediatorsChild support is one the major factors which can be held responsible for directly influencing the quality of your child’s upbringing and well being. The financial aid obtained from either parent in lieu of child support can contribute towards the schooling, healthcare and other general needs and requirements of the child. However, the basis for evaluating the financial status of each parent and calculating the child support to be paid each month is different for the different states.

How do they calculate the child support in California?

The state laws of California require the judge to calculate the child support on the basis of the individual income of each of the parents, and also the time which each of the parent spends with the child. In addition to this, there are several other factors such as the house mortgage, tax slabs and child care expenditures, which the court of law needs to take into consideration while calculating the child support in several divorce cases. Owing to the complicated nature of evaluating a wide of range of factors for determining the support payments, most of the California courts and judges take the assistance of a software program referred to as Dissomaster. The inputs to this program are to be provided by the separating partners and the software then calculates the monthly installments to be paid as support for the child.

When can you modify your support payments?

The law requires the child support to be carried on for as long as the child stays a minor and does not reach the age of 18. However, if during this time you think that you are receiving too little or paying too much support, you can request the California court for a modifications. There can be certain situations wherein you can appeal for a modification in the amount of child support you receive or pay.

  • You have more than one new child in addition to the existing ones.
  • You lose a job, or your income lowers.
  • Your custodial percentage is increased by the court of law
  • The original calculation of support was erroneous.

Despite the fact that you will probably be granted a change in your child support, the modification will not be taken into consideration from any date in the past. This implies that the alterations will not be retroactive, and will be taken into effect only from the day the change has been made.

To learn more about the divorce process in California and how mediation can help, please visit our page, What is Divorce Mediation