Under the California Family Code, the court is to use a specific formula in calculating a monthly child support payment amount known as guideline.  When determining whether or not you should be paying child support, it is important to meet with an Orange County family attorney who can help determine the “guideline amount” for child support in your case.

When the court is going to order an amount for child support that differs from the guideline formula amount, the court must follow the conditions laid out by Family Code Section 4056. However, if the court uses a party’s earning capacity instead of the party’s actual income, the court is not deviating from the guideline formula that requires compliance with Section 4056.

If one party states in his or her Income and Expense Declaration that he or she receives no income, and the other party does have a monthly income, the trial court can still order the party with no income to pay monthly child support.  The trial court can impute income to the party who in fact has no actual income. This means that the trial court can assign an amount of monthly income to a party based upon his or her earning capacity even though he or she does not actually have an income.

The court must follow Section 4056 only when the court departs from the guideline amount of child support. Substituting earning capacity for actual income is not a deviation that requires compliance with Section 4056 (IRMO Schlafly (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 747, 756.) A trial court can take into consideration each party’s earning capacity and use that capacity to calculate child support.

Wallin and Klarich has been helping people with child support guideline issues for over thirty years.  We can help you properly determine what child support amount is appropriate to your case. Call toll free today at 888-749-7428 to schedule a consultation to ensure you get the best legal advice possible.