What Is Child Support?
The term "Child Support" is used in the California Family Code, and by the courts, lawyers and parties to a family law matter, to describe "an amount necessary for the support of a minor or child," which may be court-ordered or mutually agreed.
California Family Code section 3900 provides that "the father and mother of a minor child have an equal responsibility to support their child in the manner suitable to the child's circumstances." California Family Code section 3901(a) provides that this duty of support "continues as to an unmarried child who has attained the age of 18 years, is a full-time high school student, and who is not self-supporting, until the time the child completes the 12th grade or attains the age of 19 years, whichever occurs first."
California Family Code section 3910(a) provides that "[t]he father and mother have an equal responsibility to
maintain, to the extent of their ability, a child of whatever age who is incapacitated from earning a living and without sufficient means."
California Family Code section 4000 provides that "[i]f a parent has the duty to provide for the support of the
parent's child and willfully fails to so provide, the other parent, or the child by a guardian ad litem, may bring an action against the parent to enforce the duty."
California Family Law section 4002 provides that: (a) "[t]he county may proceed on behalf of a child to enforce
the child's right of support against a parent"; (b) "[i]f the county furnishes support to a child, the county has the
same right as the child to secure reimbursement and obtain continuing support...," and (c) "[t]he court may order the parent to pay the county reasonable attorney's fees and court costs in a proceeding brought by the county
pursuant to this section."
California Family Code section 4001 provides that "[i]n any proceeding where there is at issue the support of a minor child or a child for whom support is authorized under Section 3901 or 3910, the court may order either or both parents to pay an amount necessary for the support of the child."
California Family Code section 3900 provides that "the father and mother of a minor child have an equal responsibility to support their child in the manner suitable to the child's circumstances." California Family Code section 3901(a) provides that this duty of support "continues as to an unmarried child who has attained the age of 18 years, is a full-time high school student, and who is not self-supporting, until the time the child completes the 12th grade or attains the age of 19 years, whichever occurs first."
California Family Code section 3910(a) provides that "[t]he father and mother have an equal responsibility to
maintain, to the extent of their ability, a child of whatever age who is incapacitated from earning a living and without sufficient means."
California Family Code section 4000 provides that "[i]f a parent has the duty to provide for the support of the
parent's child and willfully fails to so provide, the other parent, or the child by a guardian ad litem, may bring an action against the parent to enforce the duty."
California Family Law section 4002 provides that: (a) "[t]he county may proceed on behalf of a child to enforce
the child's right of support against a parent"; (b) "[i]f the county furnishes support to a child, the county has the
same right as the child to secure reimbursement and obtain continuing support...," and (c) "[t]he court may order the parent to pay the county reasonable attorney's fees and court costs in a proceeding brought by the county
pursuant to this section."
California Family Code section 4001 provides that "[i]n any proceeding where there is at issue the support of a minor child or a child for whom support is authorized under Section 3901 or 3910, the court may order either or both parents to pay an amount necessary for the support of the child."
How Does The Court Determine How Much Child Support Must Be Paid, And By Whom?
In California, the amount of child support that must be paid, and who must pay child support, are determined by the California Child Support Guidelines set forth in California Family Code section 4050 and the sections that follow. Multiple factors go into the calculation, including the amount of time the child or children spend with each parent (timeshare) and each parent's respective monthly net income, among others. The mathematical calculation is very complicated, and there are both special properietary software programs that most family law practitioners buy and use in cases in which the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) is not a party, and a free "guideline calculator" that is made publically available by DCSS and which must be used in cases in which DCSS is a party. Unfortunately, neither the proprietary guideline calculators nor DCSS's free guideline calculator are particularly intuitive or easy for parties to accurately use without legal assistance.