Tustin Child Support Lawyers

Child Support

Child support payments were designed to help divorcing spouses provide equally for the well-being of their children. They are generally paid by a non-custodial parent to a custodial parent, but may be used in joint custody as well, particularly if the parents’ incomes are significantly different or the children spend most of their time with one parent. Payments usually last until the youngest child turns 18 and finishes high school, but may last longer for a child considered disabled by the courts. Non-custodial parents are generally required to ensure that their health insurance coverage, if they have any, covers their children as well.

The State of California sets guidelines to help determine how much child support should be paid. These guidelines use your whole income — wages, government benefits, investments and other types of income, regardless of whether it is taxed. They also allow you to subtract other financial obligations, such as taxes, health insurance premiums and the cost of raising other children. Once they’ve been set, child support payments can be modified to account for changes in custody, changes in either parent’s finances or changes in the children’s needs.

Wallin & Klarich represents custodial and non-custodial spouses in all areas of California child support law. We can help with:

• Ensuring that your children get the financial support they need.
• Ensuring that your income and financial obligations are correctly and completely represented in court.
• Modifying child support arrangements to accommodate new circumstances.
• Enforcing a court order for child support against a parent who has not made required payments.
• Representing parents who have gotten behind in child support (arrears) in actions by government child support services agencies.
• Legally establishing paternity, or lack of paternity, for child support and custody hearings.

Our Southern California family law attorneys have handled hundreds of divorces, child support and custody cases at Wallin & Klarich. We know parents in a child support case have a difficult job to do, balancing their personal and financial needs with the best interests of their children. We’re dedicated to helping smooth this transition for our clients and seeking the best possible outcome for your child support dispute. With sixteen attorneys in five Southern California counties, we can be there when you need us, wherever you are. For a consultation with an experienced family law attorney, call us at 1-888-749-7428 or fill out the online consultation form to the right.

At Wallin & Klarich, we approach every case with the belief that the person we’re representing could easily be one of our own family members. We’ve seen firsthand how stressful legal matters can be for our clients and their loved ones. We are committed to being available to our clients at all times — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you are involved in a family law matter in Southern California, you should call Wallin & Klarich today for a free evaluation of your case. Call 1-888-749-7428 or fill out our online consultation form to get in contact with a legal professional today. We will be there when you call.

Child Support Overview

Child support is the legal obligation a parent may have to pay for the care of his or her child or children.

Child support is most often sought after the parents split up, such as in a divorce or separation, or when a mother legally establishes who the father of the child is.  Child support also may be available if one parent cannot visit the child because of a domestic violence restraining order.

If a parent is ordered to pay child support, the parent usually has to pay until the child turns 18 and is not in high school, or turns 19 if he or she is in high school.  However, there are circumstances where a child will be legally considered an adult, such as when the child gets married or is emancipated.  In these circumstances, the parent’s legal obligation to provide child support usually ends.  However, under certain conditions, such as if the child is disabled and cannot support himself, the parent may still have to provide child support even after the child turns 19.  The parents may also voluntarily agree to continue to pay child support after the child is an adult.  (See Family Code 3587.)

The child support amount is set by a predetermined formula that looks to the presence or absences of circumstances in parents’ and child’s circumstances.  (Family Code 4055(a).)  Thus, child support determinations are more or less standardized.  The amount determined by the formula is called the “guideline amount.”  In almost all cases, the guideline amount is what you will pay each month for child support.

Child support is a potentially contentious issue, and it relates to other commonly litigated issues such as child custody and spousal support.  Though family law facilitators and mediators exist to help you through this process for free, they do not represent your exclusive interests.  Family mediators act on behalf of you AND your spouse or partner, so you do not get the benefit of having a legal representative who is strictly on your side in the case.  Family law facilitators are extremely limited in their capacity to give legal advice: at most, they can direct you to which forms you need to fill out and how to fill them out.  Usually, facilitators direct you to other legal services.  They will not give you other legal advice, they will not file any motions for you, and they will not represent you at any hearings.

If you or someone you know has or may have a child support obligation issue, you will need an experienced Southern California child custody lawyer to help you through this complicated and difficult legal process.  At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with child support issues for over 30 years.  Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.

Child Support What Factors Determine Monthly Child Support?

The court looks to the following factors in determining child support:

•    The parents’ current earnings, or potential earning capacity
•    How much non-earning income each parent gets
•    The number of children these parents have together, whether biological or adopted
•    The strength of the relationship between each parent and the child
•    Tax considerations
•    The amount of other legal obligation owed by each parent, such as child support obligations from other relationships
•    Health care costs
•    Educational costs
•    Any other special or unique circumstances.

(Family Code 4055; see Family Code 4053.)

The court then determines an amount based on a predetermined calculus of the above factors, called the “guideline amount.”

Parent can agree to a non-guideline child support amount, but the court must still approve any plan.  (Family Code 4065(a).)  In determining whether to approve a non-court ordered child support amount, the court must find that each parent knows his or her child support rights, knows the guideline amount, was not unfairly pressured into agreeing to the non-guideline amount, and has never received public assistance.  In addition, the court must find that the non-guideline amount would be in the child’s best interests.

If you or someone you know has or may have a child support obligation issue, you will need an experienced Southern California child custody lawyer to help you through this complicated and difficult legal process.  At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with child support issues for over 30 years.  Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.

Child Support How Do I Change the Child Custody Support Amount?

A child support amount that has already been determined by the court can be increased or decreased if there has been a change in circumstances that affects the parent’s ability to pay.  (Family Code 3653.)  However, if the child support amount was set below the guideline amount, a parent can request to change the child support amount at any time, without the need to show a change of circumstances.

Changes in circumstances usually includes events related to one’s career, such as a promotion, demotion, or being laid off.  Other changes in circumstances include if the spouse who does not owe child support gets married and/or receives another avenue of income.  A variety of circumstances may be relevant in affecting the amount of child support, and a court will examine them and decide whether to increase or decrease payments, or eliminate them completely.

Note that a party requesting a change in the child support amount may not always be happy with the court’s decision: a party requesting an increase allows the court to look at the situation, and the court may decide that a DECREASE in child support amount is appropriate under the circumstances.  Thus, you must think carefully before requesting that a court look at the matter and decide whether to increase or decrease child support.

If you or someone you know has or may have a child support obligation issue, you will need an experienced Southern California child custody lawyer to help you through this complicated and difficult legal process.  At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with child support issues for over 30 years.  Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.

Child Support How Do You Pay Child Support?

The default way a parent pays a child support obligation is through a wage assignment.  (Family Code 5230.)  A wage assignment directly deducts the child support amount owed from the parent’s paycheck, and gives the parent the rest of the paycheck minus the child support amount.   The employer forwards the amount deducted to the California State Disbursement Unit, which forwards the amount to the other parent.  It is the employer’s responsibility to remove the child support amount in a wage assignment.

Child support amounts are deducted before other wage assignments, such as spousal supports or other judgments.  (Family Code 5238.)

If a parent wishes to contest the amount of an assignment, the parent must fill out a Request for Hearing on Wage Assignment within 10 days of receiving this form from the parent’s employer.  (Family Code 5234(b).)  The court will then hold a hearing regarding whether to reduce the amount of the wage assignment.  This is NOT the correct way to contest the amount of child support, the hearing is only for determining whether the garnishment is for the correct amount.

There may be other ways to collect support (i.e., if the spouse who owes support frequently changes jobs or is self-employed), but most federal and state laws require that child support be paid via wage assignments if possible.  (See Family Code 5208.)

If you or someone you know has or may have a child support obligation issue, you will need an experienced Southern California child custody lawyer to help you through this complicated and difficult legal process.  At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with child support issues for over 30 years.  Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.

Child Support FAQs

1.  Can the court garnish my wages to pay child support if I’m self-employed?

No.  If you are self-employed, you are not subject to a wage assignment or wage garnishment.  Instead, the parties must agree to an alternative arrangement to ensure that the self-employed parent pays his or her child support obligations.
2.  If I am incarcerated, am I still obligated to pay child support?
Until you file something with the court, you are still obligated to pay child support.  Even if you do file with the court, any judgment reducing child support payments only applies to future child support payments, not past due child support payments (called “arrears”).  Thus, DO NOT ignore a notice for child support obligation, even if you think you will not owe child support because you are in prison.
3.   When does my child support obligation begin?
The court has discretion to determine when legal child support obligation begins.  It may begin on the date when the request for child support is filed, the date of the child support hearing, the date when you were served with notice of the hearing, or another date.

4.  What can the parent who is owed child support do to determine my actual income?
If there has already been a judgment ordering child support, the supported party can serve a document known as a Request for Production of an Income and Expense Declaration After Judgment.  If you do not respond to this document, or do not fill in the required information, the supported party can file a request for income information to your employer.
5.  Is it required that I pay for heath insurance for my child?
Yes, if health insurance is free or available at a reasonable price, you and your ex-spouse or partner must provide health insurance for your child as part of your child support obligation.
If you or someone you know has or may have a child support obligation issue, you will need an experienced Southern California child custody lawyer to help you through this complicated and difficult legal process.  At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with child support issues for over 30 years.  Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.