Child support is a common type of family law matter. Parents are legally required to share the financial burdens of raising their children, whether the parents are together or not. When parents live separately or go through a divorce, the courts often step in to create child support orders, determining what payments the parents must make to support their children. If you are in need of child support payments, want to receive more child support, or think you are paying too much and want your payments decreased, talk to our Carpinteria child support lawyers today. The attorneys at The Law Offices of Bamieh and De Smeth represent both payors and recipients on their child support cases and fight to help them get the outcome they want in their case. For a free consultation with our lawyers, contact our law offices today at (805) 643-5555.
How Much is Child Support in California?
When determining how much should be paid in child support, California courts look at the expected cost of raising a child based on your income. The value the courts use for your income is your post-tax income, known as your “disposable income,” which may exclude some other deductions as part of the calculation. You may also be able to include things like health insurance and other benefits you provide your children as part of your income and child support calculations.
Another important factor in the calculation is also the number of children you support. If you have children from another relationship or have other children that you support living in your household (e.g. stepchildren), the court looks at the total number of children you support. Each additional child does not necessarily mean doubling or tripling the support cost, which could lower your per-child support cost if you have many children to support. It also means that if you support multiple children from multiple relationships, the court should look at the totality of your situation when determining child support amounts, not just the children this order affects.
To understand the actual payment amount you will be required to pay, you need to talk to an attorney about your case. California’s calculator is very fact-specific, and it is difficult to accurately estimate how much you might pay without examining the facts of your case.
