Any divorce has the potential to be complex but never is this truer than when a couple has children together. Even when the children live primarily or entirely with one parent, the other parent still has financial reasonability to the children. The law says that both parents are equally responsible for providing for their children, regardless of the marital status of the parents. Read on to learn more about the specifics of California child support and then contact Kendall Gkikas & Mitchell at 909-482-1422 with any questions.
What the law says about child support
California laws says that both parents must be equally responsible for providing food, shelter, love, clothing, emotional support, medical care, etc. The only way for the family court to enforce this obligation is to create a child support order. This order will last until the child is 18, except in the specific situation in which the child is 19, still enrolled in high school full-time, and is living at home. Child support orders can also be extended if the child can’t support themselves for a variety of reasons.
Either parent can petition the court for a child support order under specific situations
Either of the parents is able to ask the court for a child support order as long as it pertains to a paternity case, annulment, divorce, legal separation, a domestic violence restraining order, or a petition for custody and support of a minor child.
How much child support parents have to pay is set out by specific guidelines
The amount a parent will be ordered to pay is set out in a statewide formula that’s referred to as a “guideline.” If the parents can agree on an amount themselves, then that will be the child support amount. In the event they can’t, then the guidelines take a number of factors into consideration including the tax filing status of both parents, the amount of money both parents ear, how much time the child spends with either parent, how much each parent could earn, and the actual income of the parents.
Other factors taking into account with the guidelines include how many children the couple has together, the cost of childcare, if either parent has support responsibilities for other children, the shared costs of uninsured healthcare expenses, health insurance, and any mandatory retirement contributions.
Finally, the courts can consider additional factors as they decide they’re relevant. For example, the courts may order one parent to cover childcare so that the custodial parent can either work or go to school to gain work schools, the education of the child, travel costs for traveling between the two parents, additional healthcare expenses, and other special needs.
This can be a confusing process – you need an attorney on your side
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into figuring out not just child custody but child support. If you and your former spouse are having issues agreeing on amounts then you owe it to yourself to get your own representation. Contact Kendall Gkikas & Mitchell at 909-482-1422 today to get started.
