Child and Spousal Support
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can definitely make things easier. This page explains the basic concepts you need to know about support in your California family law case.
Child Support
Child support is mandatory in California. Both parents are required to support their child financially based on their ability to pay and the amount of time they spend with the children. The goal of child support is to equalize the child’s standard of living across the parents’ homes. The child should not stay in a mansion with one parent and a motel with the other, to give an extreme example. While it seems unfair, the less time you get with your child, the more you may owe in child support. The converse is also true: if you obtain more custody time, your child support obligation should decrease.
Child support can be ordered before your divorce is final. A final order can also be modified even years later based on changed circumstances, for example, if you lose your job or you obtain more custody time. You can use this free online calculator to estimate of the amount of monthly child support you will owe or your child’s other partner will owe you. You can also get help from child support services, an attorney, or both to obtain child support or attempt to reduce what you have to pay.
While child-support is based on a math formula in California, you can influence the amount you owe or receive by bringing certain information to the court’s attention.
Ways to Get More Child Support
Most of the methods listed above to reduce a child support obligation can also be used to obtain more support, though you will be making opposite arguments–that you need more money to support your child rather than the other parent needing less support.
- Get More Custody Time: If you already have your child half of the time, increasing your custody share can increase the other parent’s child support obligation.
- Show Your Income Decreased: If you lost your job, your employer reduced your hours, or you otherwise are making less money than you were at the time the judge ordered child support, file a motion immediately to request more support.
- Show Other Parent’s Income Increased: If the other parent’s income has increased since the court last calculated child support, you can request your support obligation be re-calculated using their new income, which should increase what you receive.
- Impute income: Convince the judge that the other parent is earning less than he or she could be earning. Both parents should be maximizing their earning potential if it is in the children’s best interest. If the other parent is choosing not to, the judge can “impute” the income he or she could be earning to increase the child support you receive.
- Show the Other Parent Pays for Less: Sometimes the other parent fails to use their income to pay for the child as they should. For example, they never buy the child new clothes or sufficient food. If you can demonstrate to the judge that you are paying for all of your child’s necessities, you can obtain additional support.
Temporary Spousal Support
When spouses split and before the divorce is final, temporary spousal support is available for the spouse who earns less. Like child support, judges typically start with a math formula to determine what temporary spousal support should be. Temporary support, however, is more flexible than child support and you can work with an attorney to argue that you should receive more, or pay less, spousal support while your divorce case is pending.
The basic formula for calculating monthly temporary spousal support is:
40% (higher earner’s net monthly income) – 50% (lower earner’s net monthly income)
For example, if the higher earner makes $10k per month, and the lower earner makes $6k, this would be (.4 x 10k) – (.5 x 6k) = 4000 – 3000 = $1000 owed per month from the higher earner to the lower earner. This is only a starting point for the judge, however. Perhaps the lower earner has the ability to go back to work but is choosing not to, or maybe the higher-earning spouse moved out of the family home and is facing a much higher cost of living now. Your attorney can argue multiple factors to help you obtain a favorable temporary spousal support order. The factors listed below under long-term support are relevant to the court’s temporary support decision.
Long-Term Spousal Support
Long-term or permanent spousal support is not based on a simple formula. If a marriage lasted less than ten years, spousal support will typically last for half the length of the marriage. So if you were married for seven years, support would end after three and a half years. For marriages longer than 10 years, spousal support can last for a lifetime.
When setting long-term spousal support, courts consider multiple factors, including:
- Maintaining the “Marital Standard of Living:” The court will look at the lifestyle you and your spouse had during marriage and determine what assistance the lower-earning spouse needs to maintain a similar standard of living. The court must consider what job skills the lower-earner has and his or her ability to attain new skills to maintain the lifestyle that you both shared during marriage.
- Sacrifices Made for the Higher Earner’s Career: The court considers what sacrifices the lower earner made during the marriage to help the higher earner gain employable skills. If one spouse put his or her career or education on hold to raise the kids or otherwise fulfill “duties” in the marriage, this weighs in favor of granting more support. For example, if the lower earner waited tables to pay rent while the now higher earner completed medical school, it would be fair for the lower earner to benefit from the former spouse’s degree. In contrast, if the higher earner already had a successful career before marriage, the lower-earning spouse is less entitled to a “cut” of the high earner’s continued success, particularly for a short-term marriage.
- Each Party’s Ability to Pay or Earn: The court must consider the standard of living both partners shared during marriage, but neither partner may be able to maintain the same lifestyle now that expenses are duplicated across two homes. The court reviews the higher earner’s income, assets, debts, ability to earn more, and standard of living to determine what support payment would be fair. The court also looks at the supported party’s assets, debts, and ability to work without interfering “unduly” with the needs of the supported party’s children.
- Each Party’s Age and Health: Perhaps the higher earner supported the other spouse throughout the marriage financially, but is now retired and living on a fixed income. Or maybe he or she is disabled now and can no longer work. Or maybe the supported spouse is disabled and unable to work to support himself or herself. The court takes into account each party’s current and historical work and health circumstances, including each spouse’s physical ability to earn money, when setting a fair support amount.
- Domestic Violence: The law presumes that a spouse who is convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense against the other spouse within 5 years of either party filing for divorce is barred from receiving spousal support. If the offense is a felony, spousal support is prohibited. Domestic violence convictions can also have financial consequences regarding attorney fees in divorce cases and effects on entitlement to retirement and pension benefits.
Spousal support is meant to keep both spouses at a somewhat equal level financially while the supported spouse gains the ability to support himself or herself. For long-term marriages, however, it may be unreasonable or unfair to expect the supported spouse to ever gain financial independence.
For example, if a mother dedicated her entire life to raising the kids and working within the home, and the father seeks a divorce after he has built a successful career for 30 years, it may never be fair to cut the mother off completely from the benefits of the father’s career, which she enabled him to attain by managing the family’s other obligations. In contrast, if the father already had an established career before marriage and the mother has a degree that he or she could use to obtain lucrative employment, but he or she is choosing not to even after the kids move out, lifetime spousal support may be less justified.
Child and Spousal Support FAQ’s
Do I Pay Taxes on Child Support?
No. Child support is not considered taxable income under either federal or California law.
If you receive child support, you do not pay income taxes on those payments. Likewise, child support is intended solely for the benefit of the child and is not treated as income to the receiving parent.
Is Child Support Tax Deductible?
No. Child support payments are not tax deductible at either the federal or California state level.
Although paying child support does not reduce your taxable income, you may still qualify to claim your child as a dependent under certain circumstances, which can provide valuable tax benefits.
Which Parent Claims the Child as a Dependent?
In most cases, the parent with the greater percentage of physical custody is entitled to claim the child as a dependent for tax purposes.
However, the family court has authority to order the custodial parent to sign IRS forms allowing the other parent to claim the child if doing so produces a greater overall tax benefit for the family.
When parents share custody equally, courts often order the parents to alternate claiming the child each year or otherwise allocate the exemption to maximize available tax savings.
Do I Pay Taxes on Spousal Support?
For divorces finalized after January 1, 2019, spousal support is generally not taxable for federal income tax purposes.
California law differs, however. Spousal support received must generally be reported as taxable income on your California state tax return.
Is Spousal Support Tax Deductible?
For divorces finalized after January 1, 2019, spousal support payments are not deductible on your federal tax return.
California's tax rules differ from federal law, and the tax treatment of spousal support may vary for state income tax purposes. A family law attorney or tax professional can help explain how the rules apply to your situation.
Can I Receive Child Support if I Was Never Married?
Yes. Every child has the right to financial support regardless of whether the parents were ever married.
If parentage has not already been legally established, you may need to file a parentage action or obtain a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage before child support can be ordered.
Your attorney can assist with establishing parentage and obtaining a child support order through either the court or your local child support agency.
Can I Stop Paying Child Support if I Give Up My Parental Rights?
No. Simply giving up your parental rights or choosing not to have a relationship with your child does not eliminate your legal obligation to provide financial support.
Unless a court legally terminates your parental rights—such as through an adoption—you generally remain responsible for paying child support.
Can the Court Order My Former Partner to Share Additional Expenses?
Sometimes. California courts are generally required to divide certain child-related expenses, including:
- Necessary childcare expenses.
- Uninsured medical expenses.
- Health insurance deductibles and co-pays.
The court also has discretion to allocate other expenses, including:
- Private school tuition.
- Extracurricular activities.
- Travel expenses related to visitation.
When appropriate, the court may require one parent to contribute toward activities or educational opportunities that are determined to be in the child's best interests.
How Can I Enforce a Support Order?
The most effective way to ensure timely support payments is to request an Income Withholding Order, which automatically deducts support directly from the paying parent's paycheck.
If support is not being paid, enforcement options include:
- Income withholding (wage garnishment).
- Assistance from the local Child Support Services agency.
- Contempt proceedings filed with the court.
Contempt actions can result in significant penalties, including fines, suspension of driver's or professional licenses, and even jail time in appropriate cases.
Can I Change My Support Order After the Divorce Is Final?
Yes. Child support and spousal support orders may generally be modified if there has been a substantial change in circumstances.
Common reasons to request a modification include:
- Job loss or significant reduction in income.
- A substantial increase in either parent's income.
- A change in the parenting schedule.
- Serious health issues or financial hardship.
- Discovery of previously concealed assets.
- Remarriage or other significant life changes.
Whether a modification is appropriate depends on the facts of your case, and the court will evaluate whether the requested change is supported by the evidence.
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About Child & Spousal Support in Ventura County
California child support is calculated using a statutory guideline formula set out in Family Code Section 4055, based primarily on each parent’s net disposable income (Section 4058’s definition of income) and the amount of time each parent has physical custody. Courts use the DissoMaster or XSpouse software to run the calculation, but the underlying inputs — income, deductions, custody timeshare, and add-ons for health insurance and childcare — are frequently disputed. Add-on child support under Section 4062 covers unreimbursed health-care costs and work-related childcare, usually split 50/50 or by income share.
Spousal support has two phases. During pendente lite (temporary orders while the case is pending), Ventura County follows a guideline formula (roughly 40% of the higher earner’s net minus 50% of the lower earner’s net, adjusted for child support). At judgment, however, spousal support becomes a discretionary decision under Family Code Section 4320’s multi-factor test: length of marriage, standard of living, marketable skills, contributions to the other spouse’s career, age and health, domestic violence history, tax consequences, and more. Marriages of “long duration” (10+ years) create an ongoing jurisdiction that requires an express reservation to terminate later.
Hali Ford handles support orders, modifications, arrearages, and enforcement (including wage garnishment and contempt) across Ventura County. Related: family law, divorce, custody, property division. Self-help resource: CA Courts child & spousal support. Statute: Family Code Section 4055 on Justia.
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