Child support laws are well-established in California, but they do not provide a one-size-fits-all solution for any one family. The laws are gender neutral and make no presumption that a father pays and a mother receives child support, meaning these laws fit well for LGBT parents. Usually, the parent who has the children for the most days in the year is the one who receives child support. This parent is said to have “primary physical custody” of the children. The other parent, the “noncustodial parent,” may still have legal custody of the kids, but may only have physical custody on weekends, during summer vacation, or for other preestablished periods. California law tries to give joint or shared custody to both parents whenever possible.
Still, since one parent may have the children for more of the year, they face a heavier burden. Not only is the time commitment to raise kids very high, but they also spend money out-of-pocket for child care. Child support is used to make-up the noncustodial parent’s fair share of the costs of raising children. Deciding the child support amount requires analyzing a few factors.
First, courts look at the number of children being supported in the order, and the number of other children the parent pays to support. More children to support on this child support order means a higher amount of money paid. Second, courts look at the combined income of the parties.
The total combined income helps set the standard cost of raising children at that income level. Each parent’s share of the income determines what portion of the child support they are responsible for. Thus, if you make more income than the other parent, you are expected to pay for more of their needs. Lastly, courts look at the parenting time division. If one parent has physical custody at all times, the other parent never pays out-of-pocket and must pay most of the support amount. If the parents share time equally, neither has a higher out-of-pocket burden, and child support may be unnecessary if they split the costs. In situations where one parent has children for 30% of the year or 20% of the year, they often pay higher support amounts.
