Get free answers to your Child Support legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I have joint legal custody with my ex, but he has sole physical custody of our children. According to our custody order, I am supposed to have visitation once a week. However, my ex is refusing to allow these visits, seemingly due to his tax return being taken for back child support. I have made... View More 
answered on May 30, 2025
When someone fails to comply with an existing custody or visitation order, the remedy is to have that order modified based on the grounds that the other parent has shown an inability to comply. In that request (aka Request for Order or motion), you can ask for more custodial time, again, based on... View More
I have an open case with Department of Child Support Services, but I do not have a visitation agreement in place. The mother currently has physical custody of our child. I want to establish a custody order because the mother is withholding our child for personal reasons. Should I file form FL-260... View More
answered on May 12, 2025
If you do not have any existing/open case related to custody you need to file an initial petition. That can be a Petition under FL260, or a Petition to Establish Parental Relationship (aka paternity or parentage) - FL200. The Petition opens your case and you are assigned a case number. You can... View More
I need to file an FL-150 for my child custody case. My 2-year-old daughter, who is disabled, receives SSI. I am currently not working, as I stay home to care for her. My husband, who is not my daughter's father, works. I am filing a regular income and expense declaration and want to know... View More
answered on Apr 30, 2025
You include that "income" on the FL150. You have to disclose it. When a minor child receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI), some of the child's income and resources can be "deemed" available to their parents, affecting the parents' own income and benefit... View More
What is the name of the process to determine how much my ex-spouse is earning as a self-employed handyman? Spousal support was granted in October 2024 based on him earning minimum wage. How can I establish his actual earnings?
answered on Mar 19, 2025
The court will rely on his tax returns unless you can prove the returns are not credible. This can be accomplished by subpoenaing his bank records and hiring a forensic accountant to analyze the ins and outs of funds and sources of funds.
I had a court date on March 11, 2025, regarding a parentage case. The respondent filed a request to quash the case, citing my relocation to a new county, but the judge ruled against quashing. During that session, the judge also confirmed paternity, and the respondent signed a paper acknowledging he... View More
answered on Mar 18, 2025
Default occurs when the Respondent does not file a response to the petition for parentage (aka paternity; aka Petition to Establish Parental Relationship). The responding party is not necessarily in default because they do not file a response to other types of filings such as a Request for Order.... View More
I had a child support hearing where the judge refused to include certain expenses related to my investment property in the support calculation. These expenses include a maintenance percentage, a vacancy percentage, costs for adding heating and air conditioning, and the HELOC debt on the property.... View More
answered on Mar 18, 2025
Child support is calculated using the parties' INCOME. If the investment property you are talking about is an income producing property and that income is impacted by the expenses of maintaining that property, that will be reflected in your tax return used as evidence of your income.... View More
I am involved in a child support and custody case. The other party has not followed prior court orders and has failed to serve me. There are currently no court dates scheduled, and I would like to know if mediation is mandatory in this situation, or if I can move directly to seeking legal... View More
answered on Mar 10, 2025
mandatory mediation is scheduled once a party files a Request for Order for custody/visitation. If no such motion has been filed, no hearings are pending, and you have not been sent an order from the court regarding mediation, then you are not required to go to mediation or set one up.
I have had legal guardianship over a child for the past four years. During this time, the biological mother received $2,000 a month in child support from the father, as per a court order. However, the child has not lived with her, and she falsely claimed she did not receive support from the father.... View More
answered on Mar 3, 2025
This is PURE speculation but, as described, this person almost assuredly has no money, so, getting it from her is unlikely. That said, stealing child support 'feels' punishable by prison? Again NOT even close to being sure. Perhaps you should speak to family services???
My mother had temporary guardianship of my three children and while they were in her care, she filed for state aid, leading to a child support case being opened. My mother has not had guardianship since 2021, and my children are no longer on her state aid case. Despite this, the child support case... View More
answered on Mar 1, 2025
File a motion with child support services to modify the current orders. Grounds for modification would be the change in circumstances of the children no longer living with your mother, mother no longer on her state aid, and the fact that the children are now living with you. If you do nothing,... View More
I have been married for 13 years, and my spouse and I have been living apart for more than 2 years. We have 3 children together, but no significant assets or properties. We haven't agreed on child custody yet, but I'm currently paying child support every month. I haven't started the... View More
answered on Feb 19, 2025
1) hire an attorney; 2) don't use social media, Google, or this website to teach you how to be your own lawyer. The court's website has a self-help link if you insist on handling this on your own. https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/divorce-california
My fiancé owes child support and back pay, and there is a current court order for child support. We do not share any assets or accounts, and we haven't taken any financial steps together such as buying property or opening joint accounts. Can his ex come after my finances for child support if... View More
answered on Feb 17, 2025
You are not financially responsible for someone else’s biological children and your finances cannot be used to satisfy her child support obligation and also cannot be used to calculate her child support obligations. Err on the side of caution however and consider getting a prenup
Can criminal charges be filed against me for accepting 50% to be refunded to the ex?
Do I owe her the 50% that wasn’t refunded to her?
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answered on Jan 31, 2025
Whether criminal charges could be filed against you for requesting and receiving a partial refund depends on several factors, including intent, agreements between you and your ex, and how the refund was processed. However, here are some key legal considerations:
1. Was It Fraudulent?... View More
4 weeks ago I gave my ex a child support check (in full and in time). It was a cashiers check. She just messaged me to inform me that she misplaced the check, and is demanding that I process a stop payment for the original, and issue her a new one. I understand HOW to do this. My question is, what... View More
answered on Jan 31, 2025
Of course you do. You have an obligation to pay. You haven't paid, although through no fault of your own. You obligation still exists. Also, this is for your child. Shame on you for not immediately doing all you can to make sure your child has the money necessary for his/her survival,... View More
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answered on Jan 29, 2025
For child support, it depends primarily on the timeshare and the parties income. See the statewide child support guideline. Spousal support depends on whether the support you're referring to is temporary or permanent/long-term, and even, FC 4320 would need to be applied regarding the latter,... View More
Help! What do I need to file or do to have a correction done when the Judge did not use the correct Dissomaster (after Sep. 1, 2024) calculations on a Child Support modification judgment? At the hearing, the Judge was having trouble with computer software and ultimately ended up not updating to... View More
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answered on Jan 14, 2025
In California, child support calculations are primarily based on the state's guideline formula, which takes into account both parents' incomes, the amount of time each parent spends with the child (parenting time or custody arrangement), and other factors such as health insurance, special... View More
Question 1) My ex recently filed a Request for Trial Setting, but they haven’t yet filed their Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure (PDD). I’d like to file a Motion to Strike based on the missing PDD. Am I required to use Form FL-300 for this motion? or just Autho & Memo, Decl. If I’m... View More
answered on Jan 11, 2025
First, if the other party has not filed their FL141, the request for trial setting will be rejected. Second, you do not need to file a motion to strike that request. Instead, filing an objection to the request for trial setting is sufficient assuming you list all the valid bases for objecting to... View More
My husband cheated on me and his lover had a baby and it is 6 months old. The lover is in Massachusetts and we are in California. What can we do to prevent this lover from going further? Her goal was clearly money. I want to know if she can be ordered to pay for the emotional distress that I and my... View More
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answered on Jan 14, 2025
California is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that neither party has to prove wrongdoing or fault, such as adultery, to obtain a divorce. Instead, the petitioner simply needs to state that the marriage has irreconcilable differences, meaning that the couple can no longer get along or that the... View More
can she void this agreement and ask for more money if all parties agree to this.
answered on Nov 6, 2024
It's not a matter of voiding the agreement. What either party can do is seek a modification of the agreement or otherwise get a court order for a different amount of child support. What the court "dictates" is known as "guideline support". It's the law. If you and... View More
My 16 year old visits and tells me everything. I have social media info. that verifies their relationship and it's seriousness. She also only has her daughter 8% of the time when it's supposed to be 30%. How much will it cost to correct this?
answered on Nov 3, 2024
It's not a "correction". The fact of her cohabitation is grounds for modification of an existing spousal support order if the cohabitant has income and that income is used to contribute to the household expenses/cost of living expenses. It is not relevant to child support however.... View More
My 16 year old wants to live with the father but my youngest don’t how will the child support work in this case
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answered on Sep 22, 2024
It is possible. Child support is based on the percentage of time each of you has the children and your respective incomes. For example, if you make very little money and he was very wealthy, he may have to pay child support even though he had both children the majority of the time. The same works... View More
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