A Comprehensive Look into Child Support Issues in Riverside California

Parents are responsible for providing for the needs of their children until they turn 18 or 19 if they are still in high school and are unable to fend for themselves. This is usually in the form of finances that is used to purchase food, shelter, clothing and an education. When two individuals divorce or separate, it becomes hard for one parent to take on all the financial responsibilities especially if they don’t have the earning power to do so. It thus becomes the responsibility of the government via the court system to enact and enforce rules that help take off the burden of raising children in California in this economy. It is your responsibility as a parent to approach the justice system and ask that your spouse pay child support. However, liaising with us, a recognized Riverside family law attorney will provide you with the best results in the shortest amount of time.

Here are instances where you can ask the child to institute child support:

1. When you are going through a divorce or separation with your significant other. This also applies if you are going through an annulment.
2. When there is domestic violence happening as well as the presence of a restraining order. This applies to unmarried couples as well.
3. When there is a petition to establish parental relationship that’s in line with the law.

The state of California has clearly laid out rules that talk about how much child support one should be paying. This is usually dependent on a number of factors such as:

• How much each parent earns at the present moment
• How many children the couple have together
• Health insurance expenses
• Your and your spouse’s tax filing status
• Whether or not you or your spouse are supporting children from another relationship
• Union dues that are mandatory
• Any retirement contributions that are required by the state
• The amount of time each parent spends with the child or children in question

That being said, having a child support order which affects one parent doesn’t mean that the other parent is off the hook. You may be required to share costs on things like reasonable healthcare expenses, work skills training that the other parent is currently undertaking, visitation travel costs, special needs as well as educational needs. Please do your best to adhere to these since any deviation will most likely lead to your loss of custodial or visitation rights going forward.

How Your Net Disposable Income Comes Into Play

Your net disposable income plays a large role in how much money you’ll be doling out every month when it comes to child support. Net disposable income is basically what remains after federal taxes have been taken out as well as things like deductions mandated by the state are subtracted. That being said, it’s not uncommon for the court to consider things like commissions, bonuses and overtime when considering how much you should pay in the form of child support. It’s in your best interests to make sure that you are truthful when disclosing your income to avoid any garnishing of your wages or even imprisonment for failure to pay back child support in the future.

In the event that you should fall behind on your child support payments, the law requires you to pay interest on any back payments. This interest is usually calculated as 10 percent of child support that was due every year after 1983, or 7 percent per year for any amount that was due before January 1983.

You may be held in contempt of court should you willfully not pay your child support as mandated by the court. This may come with jail time or probation or other serious legal consequences that may eventually touch every area of your life.

Changes in Child Support Amounts

Changes in child support amounts are possible under certain circumstances. For example, if your spouse’s income changes as a result of new business or a raise, the court may issue a new order to help raise the amount so that it reflects the new income. In addition, the amount of time each parent spends with the child may also come into play when looking at child support increments or vice versa. That being said, please note that you will be required to pay child support in the amount that you owe regardless of the change in your income until a time when a new order is issued by the court. Additional information from the county of Riverside and San Bernardino can be found here.

Child support typically stops when a child turns eighteen. However, this isn’t the only time that you as a parent can stop paying child support. If, for example, your child applies for emancipation, you may stop paying your share of child support. If your marries or gets into a domestic partnership, the court will assume that he or she is now able to take care of themself due to the addition of an extra source of income from their new spouse. In addition, if the child joins the military or dies, you may no longer be required to pay child support going forward.

California courts usually provide a guideline when it comes to the amount of child support that you are required to pay or receive from your ex-spouse. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. For example, if you aren’t receiving public assistance, you may be able to ask the judge to increase the child support payments. If you think and are able to prove that the child support amount is in the best interest of the child, you may be able to pay or receive an unconventional amount of money from your spouse.

Despite the fact that you may agree on a certain amount of child support with your spouse, only the presiding judge will have the final say by signing into law a binding order that you are supposed to adhere to going forward. We understand that child support issues are complicated; because of this, we’d like to ask you to get in touch our Riverside child support attorneys so we can simplify the whole process for you. Please call us today for your free consultation. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.