Costa Mesa Child Support Lawyer

Costa Mesa Child Support Attorneys

Child support disagreements can be heated, emotional, and extremely stressful for all parties involved. This is one of the many reasons why having a seasoned Costa Mesa child support lawyer on your side is so important. At Minyard Morris (formed over 48 years ago), we understand just how difficult these cases can be and how, in many situations, negotiations might not be possible. That is why it is vital that you seek an experienced advocate like the 20 family lawyers at Minyard Morris.

In California, parents have a duty to protect and provide for their child’s needs until that child is no longer considered a minor or when the child is disabled or has special needs for the child’s entire life. Regardless of marital status, this responsibility is still obligated by the state. If you believe you are entitled to child support as the custodial parent or believe you are paying too much as the individual paying the child support, we are ready to fight for you.

Our firm is dedicated to top-tier service in many areas of family law, including child support, and we have a deep understanding of the applicable laws. With this knowledge and over 300 years of collective experience, we can help ensure that a fair and favorable financial amount is provided in order for your rights to be protected as both an individual and a parent and for your child’s needs to be taken care of.

How Child Support Is Determined in Costa Mesa

When parents cannot agree on child support agreements themselves or negotiate an agreement through their attorneys, there will arise a need to go to court and have the presiding judge make a determination of fair child support for you. In California, when a judge works to calculate a fair amount of child support in a divorce, legal separation, paternity issue, or modification, they will typically look at the following elements:

The income of the parent, including the net disposable and passive income. Net disposable income is any income that is left over following taxes and any required health premiums and tax retirement contributions. Likewise, the courts can take into account any forms of passive income, including rental properties, commissions, stocks, pension plans, workers’ comp benefits, or unemployment benefits you may receive.
Any possible deductions to your income, including child care expenses, mandatory retirement, property taxes, mortgage interests, health insurance, mandatory union dues, and any other child support or spousal support that has already been ordered.
The percentage of child custody each parent has. In many cases, child support amounts will be calculated after a child custody arrangement has been ordered. In most situations, the less time a parent spends with his or her child, the more they will most likely have to pay in child support.
The child’s current standard of living is another thing taken into consideration by judges when making child support rulings. California is unique in this consideration, and it might be ruled as unfair should the child live a different lifestyle with one parent as opposed to the other, especially in cases where the only difference is the amount of financial support each parent has access to.

It is vital that you have an attorney on your side during a child support case to ensure that an ex is not taking advantage of you, no matter what side you are on and that the support amount ruled on is both fair to you while still providing for the needs of your child.

Reasons to Seek Child Support Modification

At Minyard Morris, we are ready to advocate for your rights above all else. That being said, there may come a time when you wish to seek a modification to your child support order, whether you are the paying parent or the receiving one. However, not anyone can seek a modification for simply any reason. There are only a very specific few scenarios that allow individuals to pursue a support modification. These scenarios can include:

A change in child custody orders.
A change in income for either parent by way of both raises and demotions.
A job loss for either parent.
An injury or illness suffered by the child which causes their needs to increase.
An injury or illness suffered by either parent that affects their financial position.
Any other hardship that you can prove has affected your financial position either as the paying parent or the receiver.

FAQs

Q: What Are Some Forms of Evidence Necessary in a Child Support Case?

A: When a child support case is contested and must be officially ruled on by a judge, there are several forms of evidence you will want to bring with you to court in order for the judge to determine your income and, therefore, how much support you should pay or receive. These include paystubs, W-2 forms, tax returns, expense declarations, and income declarations.

Q: What Are Some Examples of Child Support Add-Ons?

A: In some cases, the judge may order that certain add-ons be made to a child support order. There are two forms of add-ons possible: mandatory, or add-ons that a court must order, and discretionary, or add-ons the courts may require at their discretion. Mandatory add-ons can include childcare expenses and uninsured health costs, while discretionary add-ons can include travel costs for visitation and educational costs.

Q: What Exactly Does Child Support Cover?

A: It is vital to keep in mind that child support can go beyond the coverage of the child’s basic necessities, such as food or clothing. It can also cover other expenses such as medical bills, education costs, entertainment costs, after-school or extracurricular activities and their expenses, college tuition and related costs, and expenses involved in travel or transportation.

Q: What Happens When a Parent Is Self-Employed?

A: When one of the parents involved in a child support case is self-employed, this can add a layer of complexity and difficulty to the case. Their income will become a vital part of the discussion on exactly how the support will be paid. This is another reason why it is so essential that you hire an experienced family law attorney who can help you through the difficulties of child support when self-employed.

It’s Time to Work With an Experienced Child Support Attorney

At Minyard Morris, we pride ourselves on offering quality legal representation and fierce advocacy for all our clients. When you walk through our doors, you won’t be getting a single attorney for your case but an entire team with the knowledge and experience you need to ensure a favorable case outcome. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation.

Costa Mesa Child Support Lawyer FAQ

What Other Issues Does a Court Look to in Determining Income Available for the Payment of Child Support?

A family law court may look to the parents income and assets in determining the amount of child support.

Structured annuity payments paid relative to a personal injury do not constitute income for the purposes of determining child support.

Spousal support is not income to be included in the calculation of guideline child support. (IRMO Corman).

A wealthy party may avoid extensive discovery if a stipulation is reached providing that the party has the ability to pay any reasonable child support. (Estevez v. Superior Court and IRMO Aylesworth).

When there is a dispute as to the income of a party, the divorce court may look to a party’s loan application as presumptive evidence of income. (IRMO Calcaterra & Badakhsh). The representations on the loan application can be received by the divorce court as admissions of the income earned.

A party may not reduce his or her income by voluntarily making payments to reduce debt that is not currently due to a third person or entity. For example, a party prepaying a mortgage cannot claim a reduction in income. (IRMO Kirk).

Voluntarily deferring income is not a proper basis for a reduction of spousal or child support. (IRMO Berger).

Proceeds from the sale of a business that are reinvested are not income available for child support. (IRMO Pearlstein).

The increase in the amount of equity in a home is not income for purposes of calculating child support. (IRMO Henry).

What Sources of Revenue are Included in the Guideline Child Support Calculation?

Child support is based upon the gross (not net) income of the parties, including the following types of income and benefits:

Salary;
Bonuses;
Royalties;
Rents;
Workers compensation;
Unemployment benefits;
Disability benefits;
Social Security benefits;
Employment benefits;
Deferred income;
Perquisites;
Military allowances;
Meal allowances;
Recurring Gifts;
Most annuity payments; and
Vested stock options/RSUs/Profits Interests.

The following items are not income available for child support:

One time inheritances;
Unallocated lump-sum personal injury recoveries;
Loans of all types including student loans;
Life Insurance proceeds; and
Proceeds of the sale of stock in a business that are reinvested.

When Does Child Support End?

Child support is payable until a child completes high school, but not after a child attains the age of 19.

Child support does not automatically end on the death of the payor parent, even if the primary parent had child custody. (IRMO McCann).

Child support may be payable to adult children who are unable to support themselves.

What is Guideline Child Support?

Guideline child support is calculated with the use of a computer program that requires the input of a number of factors. The most significant of which are custodial time-share and income (as defined by the Family Code).The purpose of child support is to provide a level of support that allows the child to share the parent’s economic station in life.

California family law states that parents must contribute to the support of a child, according to a detailed formula utilized in the software programs “X-Spouse” and “Dissomaster.” These programs generate “guideline” child support.

Child support is more involved than simply inputting the incomes of the parties into a computer program and pressing enter. The computer program generates the guideline child support amount. A family court may order a party to pay for additional expenses, referred to as “add-ons,” in addition to the base child support. Add-ons may include such things as child care, activity costs, schools costs, travel costs, health insurance premiums, and medical costs not paid by insurance. Other issues that may need to be addressed include imputation of income, determining the representative period of past earnings to determine the most probable future income, how to treat fluctuating income, determining whether money received is income, etc.

A family court may order “add-on” costs be paid in full by one party, or divided between the parties in equal or unequal shares.

A family court may order a base level of child support, and a supplemental payment of any additional income received over the base salary. This supplemental child payment is referred to as an “Ostler-Smith” payment.

Child Support Decision Tree

Family Law Interconnectivity Overview – Children

Is the Court Required to Order the Computer Generated Child Support Amount?

A family law court may depart or deviate from guideline child support, even though the amount of guideline child support is presumed to be the correct amount. A family law court has the discretion to determine whether or not to depart from guideline child support but must make specific findings to justify the departure (IRMO Hall).

The following circumstances may justify departure from guideline child support:

Special needs of a child (IRMO Cryer);
Exceptionally high earner;
Deferred home award to payee party;
A party is not contributing to the needs of the children at a level commensurate with their time share;
Unjustness of the guideline formula in the particular circumstance;
Payment of significant amount of community consumer debt incurred for basic living needs (County of Lake v. Antoni); and
Mortgage free housing. (IRMO Schlafly).

A client should expect their divorce lawyer to be beyond candid, and explain to them the strengths and weaknesses of the case, and the probable outcome of litigation at the first attorney-client meeting and at every stage during the process, as new facts unfold. A client should have the opportunity to make informed and timely decisions about their children. Our Orange County divorce lawyers are known for telling our clients the good, the bad, and the ugly about child custody matters – early and often. Clients deserve to hear the truth, not a sales pitch.

Is There a Difference in the Determination of Guideline Child Support at the Temporary Stage vs. the Post-Judgment Stage?

Temporary child support is ordered at the Request For Order (RFO) stage of the case. Post-judgment child support, is ordered at the trial. Guideline child support ordered at both stages of a case, is determined by the same formula.

Potential Sequence of Steps and Procedural Events in a Divorce

Isn’t Child Support Determined by Simply Using a Computer Program?

Child support is a complex area of family law and is more involved than simply inputting the incomes of the parties into a computer program and pressing enter. The computer program generates the guideline child support amount. A family court may order a party to pay for additional expenses referred to as “add-ons” in addition to the base child support. Add-ons may include such things as child care, activity costs, schools costs, travel costs, health insurance premiums and medical costs not paid by insurance. Other issues that may need to be addressed include issues like imputation of income, determining the representative period of past earnings to determine the most probable future income, how to treat fluctuating income, determining whether money received is income, etc.

A family court may order “add-on” costs be paid in full by one party or divided between the parties in equal or unequal shares.

A family court may order a base level of child support and a supplemental payment of any additional income received over the base salary. This supplemental child payment is referred to as and “Ostler-Smith” payment.

“Child Support Decision Tree

Family Law Interconnectivity Overview – Children

Is the Amount of Custodial Time That Each Parent Has Relevant to the Amount of Child Support?

Conflicts may exist relative to the methodology of calculating custodial time sharing. Generally, hours of parental responsibility are counted towards the time share percentages. This means that when a child sleeps at one parent’s home, that parent is credited with the sleep hours in the time share calculation. Likewise, if one parent is responsible for issues that arise during the school day, that parent is credited with the school hours. One of the significant factors that determines guideline child support is the child custody time share percentages. A higher child custody time share for the payor decreases child support, and a lower child custody time share for the payor increases child support.

“Child Support

Is Child Support Modifiable?

Child support is always modifiable. However, it may only be modified retroactively to the date of the filing of a Request For Order (RFO) seeking the modification.

Child support is modifiable if there has been a material change in circumstances since the date of the last order. A change in income or a change in the child custody timeshare may be a material change in circumstances. However, a substantial reduction in income from employment may not justify a reduction in child support, if the payor has substantial income from investments.

The parties may not bind the family law court to a specific standard of review to modify a child support order. (IRMO Cohen).

Common examples of circumstances that may warrant a modification of child support include: a change in income of either party, decrease in the income of either party or change in custodial time share.

Time Share Factor

Income Factor

How Does the Family Law Court Address Health Insurance Issues?

A divorce court must order one or both parties to maintain health insurance for the children, if available through employment at no or nominal cost.

A divorce court will generally order each party to pay all, or a portion, of a child’s medical expenses not paid by insurance. The court can order the parties to pay disproportionate shares of health costs.

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