How Do Courts Determine Child Support?

To the average person, “child support” is a vague term that refers to a certain amount of money one divorced parent must pay to the other divorced parent for their child (or children’s) general wellbeing. In reality, it covers very defined categories of expenses, including expenses for food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare. It can also include employment-related childcare costs, educational costs, and travel expenses for visitation. Below is a summary of how California courts determine how much each parent must contribute in child support.

Each Parent Must Contribute to Child Support

Each parent is legally required to support their child — a duty that continues even after the dissolution of the parents’ marriage. As such, the law requires both parents to contribute financially to their child’s support after a divorce. The amount of child support each parent must pay varies, and depends upon the parent’s income and the amount of time the parent has physical custody of the child.

Determining the Amount Each Parent Must Pay

In California, a parent pays child support out of his or her net disposable income. To calculate that amount, the court first calculates each parent’s annual gross income. This includes income derived from:

• Wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, etc.
• Proprietorship of a business
• Employee benefits

Next, to calculate net disposable income, the court subtracts the following expenses:

• State and federal tax liabilities
• FICA contributions
• Mandatory union dues and retirement benefits
• Health insurance premiums
• Child support already being paid
• Job-related expenses

Once the court calculates each parent’s net disposable income, it calculates the exact amount of child support each parent must pay using a complex mathematical formula that takes several factors into consideration, including:

• The amount of both parents’ income to be allocated for child support
• The higher-earning parent’s net disposable income
• The approximate percentage of time that the high earner will have primary physical responsibly for the child compared to the other parent
• The total net monthly disposable income of both parents

If the amount calculated from this formula is a positive number, the higher earner pays that amount to the lower earner; if the amount is negative, the lower earner pays the absolute value of that amount to the higher earner.

When Will the Court Deviate from California Child Support Formula?

The amount of child support that the court calculates using the above formula is considered to be the correct amount. However, the court may modify that amount upon a showing that:

• The parties have stipulated to a different amount of child support (requires court approval)
• The parent being ordered to pay child support has a very high income and the amount determined would exceed the child’s needs. (Though high income families may have higher cost needs than others.)
• A party is not contributing to the needs of the child commensurate with that party’s custodial time
• Both parents have substantially equal time-sharing of the child
• The child has special needs that are not addressed by the court’s calculation

The court may also modify its calculation if it finds that application of the formula would be “unjust or inappropriate” in the particular case. Child support may also be modified by the Courts after the plan has already been in place.

Contact an Orange County Child Support Attorney

For more information about child support in California, including an estimate of how much you might have to pay, please contact an Orange County and Irvine child support attorney at Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader by calling us at 949-474-0800.

Common Questions About How California Courts Set Child Support

What inputs drive the California child support formula?

Two dominate: each parent’s net disposable income and the percentage of time each parent has primary physical responsibility for the children. Net disposable income starts from gross income from all sources and subtracts specified items, including income taxes actually payable, mandatory retirement and union dues, health premiums, and support paid for other children. Because the formula is applied by certified software, the contest is over the inputs. A modest change in either income or timeshare can move the monthly figure substantially, which is why both are established with evidence rather than agreement.

How is the timeshare percentage actually calculated?

By the time each parent has primary physical responsibility for the children, measured against the whole year. In practice that means counting hours or days under the operative schedule, including holidays, school breaks, and summer, rather than describing the arrangement in general terms. Schedules that look similar can produce different percentages once breaks are counted. Where the actual pattern differs from the written order, the figure used is the arrangement the evidence shows is really happening, so contemporaneous records matter when the schedule is disputed.

What if a parent is unemployed or underemployed?

The court can impute income based on earning capacity rather than actual earnings, where the parent has the ability and the opportunity to work and imputation is consistent with the children’s best interest. Earning capacity is proved with evidence, typically employment history, qualifications, and testimony about available positions and prevailing wages, sometimes through a vocational evaluation. Imputation is not automatic, and a parent who is genuinely unable to find work, or whose caregiving of the children makes employment impractical, is treated differently from one who has chosen to stop earning.

How is income determined for a self-employed or business-owning parent?

From the business records rather than the tax return. Income available for support is reconstructed by adding back personal expenses paid through the entity, normalizing owner compensation to a market figure, and adjusting for depreciation and for retained earnings the owner controls. Where income is irregular across years, a representative averaging period is often used, or the order sets a base amount plus a defined percentage of income above a threshold as it is actually received. This work is done by a forensic accountant, and it is usually the most consequential part of a support case involving an owner.

About the Firm

Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader is a family law firm in Irvine representing clients throughout Orange County, and in Los Angeles County. The firm practices family law exclusively. Its attorneys include Fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and attorneys certified as specialists in family law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Call 949.474.0800 to discuss a child support calculation with the firm.