Calculate Child Support in California

Determining child support can be a complicated part of any child custody lawsuit. Whether you are involved in a custody battle or are just looking at possible outcomes, California has statutory guidelines to help. You will need to know about both parents' incomes and who will have physical control over the child.

Steps

Agreeing To An Amount

  1. Determine who has to pay child support. If you are married to the other parent, you both will be responsible for your child's financial support. However, if you are not married to the other parent, child support will depend on your (and the other parent's) income and parenting time. Either parent could have to pay the other. Usually, the parent with physical control over the child will receive child support from the other parent.[1]
  2. Open a child support case. If you are married to the other parent and are only asking for child support (i.e., not getting a divorce), then you need to file a Petition for Custody and Child Support of Minor Children (Form FL-260). You can find the form at http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl260.pdf. If you are not married, you will need to establish paternity and ask for child support by filing a Petition to Establish a Parental Relationship (Form packet L-1026). You can find the petition at http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl200.pdf.
    • If you have already started a case in the California courts, you can file an Order to Show Cause and get a hearing date. For example, you may be in the middle of a divorce or domestic violence case.[1]
  3. Research how the court makes decisions. Even when you and the other parent agree on a child support amount, the court will have the ultimate say in what happens. The judge, like you, will use the statutory guidelines to help them calculate payments. In addition to the statutory formula, the courts will also look at:
    • Health insurance expenses;
    • Mandatory union dues;
    • Mandatory retirement contributions;
    • The cost of daycare and uninsured health-care costs; and
    • Other factors the judge might deem appropriate (e.g., traveling costs for visitation and educational expenses).[1]
  4. Talk with the other parent. If you think you and the other parent will be able to work out an agreement on your own, you need to sit down with that person and discuss your finances. You should have the statutory formula close by to help guide your discussion. While a judge may sign an agreement that deviates from the formula, the closer you follow it the more likely it is the judge will sign off.[1]
    • Talking with the other parent and working something out with them can be a great way to avoid a result you don't like. You should always try this before having a judge decide for you.
  5. Fill out a Stipulation to Establish or Modify a Child Support Order. This form will ask you to calculate child support based on the statutory guidelines. However, you can mark Box 6 that indicates you do not want to follow the amount calculated using the guidelines. If you do this, the amount you and the other parent agree to must be in the best interest of the child and must be adequate to take care of the child's needs. You can also state other reasons for your deviation.[2]
  6. Request modifications if necessary. If you or the other parent has had a significant change in your circumstances, you may want to consider modifying the child support amount you have in place. Once you request a modification, the court will look at your current circumstances and decide whether to modify the original order.
    • To request a modification, you need to file a new stipulation form.[1]
  7. Continue to make payments until you are relieved of your duty. The duty of support continues until the child reaches 18 years old and has graduated from high school, or turns 19 years old, whichever comes first. However, the court can continue to require you or the other parent to make support payments if the child cannot support him or herself.[1]

Using the California Guideline Child Support Calculator

  1. Visit the California Department of Child Support Services website (DCSS). DCSS has a website dedicated to helping you calculate child support based on the statutory guidelines. To start, visit http://www.childsup.ca.gov/resources/calculatechildsupport.aspx.
  2. Navigate to the Guideline Calculator page. Once you are on DCSS's website, you will click on the link titled "Go to Calculator." It will take you to https://www.cse.ca.gov/ChildSupport/cse/guidelineCalculator#. From there you will choose the number of children you have using the pull-down menu. Once you have done so, you will click start.
  3. Download the support guide. While you can choose to dive right into filling in the blanks on your screen, you should consider downloading the support guide to help you through the process. The support guide can be found at http://www.childsup.ca.gov/portals/0/resources/docs/gdlncalculator.pdf. It will walk you through the process step-by-step. It will tell you about:
    • The calculator;
    • How to enter information about your children;
    • Tax information;
    • Monthly income information;
    • Monthly deduction information;
    • Children with hardships;
    • Monthly add-ons; and
    • Your results.[3]
  4. Gather documents to help you. In addition to the guide, you should also gather as many of the following documents as possible:
    • Parents' tax returns;
    • Parents' pay stubs;
    • Parents' 1099s or W-2s; and
    • Documents that describe disabilities, child care expenses, health insurance premiums, mandatory contributions, and other child support obligations.[3]
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions. With all of your documents in hand, go back to your computer and start filling in the blanks on the screen that pops up after you clicked "Start." Here you will submit tax information; custody information; deduction information; and other information you may have.
    • Once you have filled everything out, you will click the "Calculate" button at the bottom of your screen.[4]
  6. Read through your results. You will receive a number of calculations when you complete the online calculator. Take time to carefully read and understand what has been calculated. In general, you will see the following:
    • Monthly support totals, which is a list of estimated support that one parent will pay to the other.
    • Monthly child support per child, which is an amount broken out for each child.[3]

Calculating Child Support on Your Own

  1. Find the statutory formula. California provides a statewide uniform guideline for calculating child support. Within the statute is a formula that is used by judges and others when coming up with support payments. The guidelines, and the formula, can be found at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fam&group=04001-05000&file=4050-4076. The child support formula is: CS = K[HN - (H%)(TN)].
    • CS is the child support amount.
    • K is the amount of both parents' incomes that can be allocated to child support.
    • HN is the high earner's net monthly disposable income.
    • H% is the approximate percentage of time the child will be in the physical custody of the high earner.
    • TN is the total net monthly disposable income of both parents.[5]
  2. Calculate the K value. To calculate K, you add one to your H% value if that value is less than or equal to 50%. If your H% value is greater than 50%, you will subtract two from that number. You will then multiply that number by one of the following fractions:
    • (.20 + TN/16,000) if your TN value is between $0 and $800.
    • (.25) if your TN value is between $801 and $6,666.
    • (.10 + 1,000/TN) if your TN value is between $6,667 and $10,000.
    • (.12 + 800/TN) if your TN value is over $10,000.
    • For example, if H% equals 20% and the TN value is $1,000, K = (1 + .20) x (.25), which is .30. Therefore, in this example, your K = .30.[5]
  3. Compute each parent's monthly net disposable income. To figure out each party's net disposable income, you will need deduct various amounts from your total annual gross income. You will then divide this number by 12 in order to get the monthly amount.
    • Some of the deductions include income tax deductions, contribution deductions, mandatory union dues, health insurance costs, other spousal support payments, hardship deductions, and some job related expenses.[5]
    • For example, assume your annual gross income is $40,000. After deductions, assume your yearly disposable income is $6,500. Next, consider the other parent's yearly disposable income, which you can assume is $5,500. Assume they have an annual gross income of $35,000. Therefore, the total yearly disposable income of both parents equals $12,000 ($6,500 + $5,500). You will then divide this number by 12 to get the total monthly disposable income. In this example, that will equal $1,000 ($12,000/12). Therefore, your TN value will equal $1,000.
    • In the same example, in order to figure out the HN value, you can simply divide the high earner's yearly disposable income by 12. Because the high earner is you, who makes $40,000 annually, you will divide your yearly disposable income by 12. When you do so, you will get $541.67 ($6,500/12). Therefore, your HN value will equal $541.67.
  4. Determine the H% value. This will be an approximation based on the amount of time the parent that makes more money has physical control over the child. If you have worked out an agreement with the other parent, look at that agreement and make a determination.
    • For example, if you are the high earner, the H% percentage will represent the amount of time you have physical custody of your child. Assume you have an agreement with the other parent and it states that you get the child 20% of the time. Therefore, your H% value will equal 20%.
  5. Plug your numbers into the formula. Once you have all of your numbers, you will plug them into the formula and make the calculation. The total that comes out is the amount of child support that should be paid according to the state guidelines.
    • For example, using the examples above, your completed formula should look like this: CS = .3[541.67 - (.2 x 1,000)]. When you do the math, your CS should equal $102.50, which is the amount of monthly child support you would owe.
  6. Consider when a court might deviate from the formula. While the formula is the most common way of calculating child support, courts will deviate from it in certain situations.
    • For example, courts might not follow the formula when it produces a CS value that greatly exceeds the needs of the child. This usually happens when one parent has an extremely high income.
    • In another example, if children have special medical or other needs, a court may require child support in an amount that exceeds the amount calculated using the formula.[6]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 http://www.occourts.org/directory/family/child-support.html
  2. ↑ http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl350.pdf
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.childsup.ca.gov/portals/0/resources/docs/gdlncalculator.pdf
  4. ↑ https://www.cse.ca.gov/ChildSupport/cse/guidelineCalculator/findNewGuidelineCalculation?conv_instance=3fd04a1b-0d59-40c9-8370-8934331cc77d&conv_id=none
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fam&group=04001-05000&file=4050-4076
  6. ↑ http://www.divorcenet.com/states/california/california_child_support_guidelines
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