San Diego Child Support Lawyers
Fighting for Your Rights and Interests

One of the most fundamental and contentious issues that arises in divorce cases that are contested where children are involved is that of child support.  While California is a state where the amount of child support that’s paid by the non-custodial parent is largely straightforward in how that amount is derived, there are norms that fathers need to understand before encountering this issue.  Below is a brief overview of how this form of support works in California, and if you’re facing a divorce where this is going to be an issue you need to contact San Diego child support lawyers as soon as possible.

California Child Support Guidelines

Basically, California law looks at a few tangible factors when deciding on how much child support is going to be required from the non-custodial parent.  These factors include:

• The non-custodial parent’s earnings
• The earnings of the custodial parent
• The number of children involved
• The percentage of time the children spend under the care and control of each parent

While this appears to be a relatively simple equation to complete, there are realities involved that need to be understood by fathers who are not sure what their obligations will be.  For instance, the monthly expenses incurred by the non-custodial parent such as rent, car payments and the like is not seen as relevant to the final amount of child support that must be paid.  However, if any of these expenses are paid for the benefit of the custodial parent, they could be taken into account.  Secondly, there are some exceptions to strictly looking at the factors above that can arise, and examples of these exceptions appear below.

Exceptions and Special Situations Involving Child Support

While the California legislature has made every effort to come to a final amount of child support that’s owed every month as simple as possible, no one’s life fits neatly into a mathematical equation.  Therefore, there are exceptions to the factors used above that could arise in any case that could change the amount of child support that’s owed.

For instance, if the custodial parent has to send the children to daycare so he or she can keep a job, it’s possible that the non-custodial parent will be ordered to pay for this child care.  If medical expenses arise that are not covered by the custodial parent’s insurance or if the children cannot be covered by the custodial parent’s employment-based healthcare coverage, the non-custodial parent could be ordered to pay for the healthcare coverage of the children as well.

One idea to keep in mind in relation to this situation is that even though you’re likely feeling a high degree of aggravation towards your ex-spouse, these payments are for the good and in the interests of your children.  Therefore, if you’re concerned about child support but you want to be fair and provide for those who depend on you, contact the San Diego child support lawyers at the Law Offices of James D. Scott immediately to schedule an initial consultation.