California guideline child support is calculated through the use of the Dissomaster software. In Los Angeles and Orange Counties, the court uses the Santa Clara as county.

The factors that are important to this calculation includes the parents’ timeshare with the child, each parent’s gross monthly earning, each parent’s tax filing status, healthcare insurance premium and tax deductibles such as mortgage interest and property tax.

There are additional factors that may not apply in all situations. They include retirement contributions, tax filing status, union dues, payor’s hardship of raising other children, and many others. For retirement contributions, one must make the distinction between voluntary contribution versus mandatory contribution. If a parent does not file taxes, the court may be inclined to make changes to each parent’s tax filing status to reflect the additional income available for child support.

Child support add-ons is an area where support calculation may be reduced or increased. Add-ons include child-related expenses such as childcare, school tuition, sports and extracurricular activities such as soccer or piano classes.

• Income Available for Support

In this blog entry, we focus on one of the most important factors of child support determination: a parent’s gross earnings. It is important to remember that while earnings of the parents are crucial, under some circumstances, the amount of support itself can change drastically when ALL the factors are considered.

Family Law code section 4058(a)(1) defines income as “commissions, salaries, royalties, wages, bonuses, rents, dividends, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, workers’ compensation benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, disability insurance benefits, social security benefits, and spousal support …”  In layman’s terms, it means a parent’s recurring and regular receipts of money. 

One-time receipt of funds does not qualify as “income” for purposes of calculating child support.  Similarly, loans proceeds or funds with an expectation of repayment are not included as income available for support.

When a parent earns commissions or overtime that is not certain, the court may fashion a Smith-Ostler order.

f you need help calculating child support in California, contact our office for assistance. We provide free ten-minute consults over the phone.