California Child Support

Following divorce and custody cases, child support is one of the biggest ongoing expenses parents face.
Child support payments fund the continuing care of your children and are part of your duty as a parent.

They are court-ordered payments that provide for food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities.

While many other areas of family law are more open to interpretation, child support has rigid boundaries and definitions.

In California, child support takes a wide array of financial factors into account, but it follows a strict, uniform formula.

California has a standard mathematical formula to determine child support, following this formula determines the amount of child support a parent pays.

CS=K[HN-(H%)(TN)]

• CS:  the child support amount.
• K:  the total of both parents’ income.
• HN:  the high net, or the total disposable income for the higher-earning parent.
• H%:  the percentage of time the higher-earning parent is responsible for the child.
• TN:  the combined net monthly total disposable income between both parents.

Related Reading: Breaking Down The Child Support Formula (In-depth)

• Collect specific information about your income, finances, and taxes.
• You need your most recent tax returns, paycheck stubs, and tax forms, like W-2s or 1099s.
• You need any paperwork that documents disability or unemployment benefits,
• child health care costs,
• mandatory fees like union dues or retirement contributions,
• job-related expenses,
• child support payments for other children,
• spousal support payments,
• or similar costs, collect those.