Child Support Calculation

HOW IS THE CHILD SUPPORT CALCULATION ARRIVED AT WITHOUT USING THE DISSO MASTER PROGRAM FOR THE BASE AMOUNT IN A DIVORCE, LEGAL SEPARATION OR PATERNITY IN 2014 IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY: SUMMARY OF SELECTED ISSUES?LAW WHICH IS IN EFFECT AS OF JANUARY 1, 2014 THROUGH JANUARY 1, 2018 FOR CHILD SUPPORT CALCULATIONS

Under California Family Law Code Section 4055, whether a paternity, divorce or legal separation in San Diego Superior Court, child support is determined per the below calculation which is a summary only and in article form. Child support can be ordered in a case in which the parties are married, divorced, legally separated or never married such as a paternity case. In a paternity case, for a San Diego Superior Court Judge to order child support, there must be a finding of paternity as the parents were not married at time of birth or conception. The amount of child support will not be different whether the parties were married and divorce or, as in a paternity, not married. As you will see, this is a very complicated formula and one of the reasons

WHAT IS THE ACTUAL FORMULA USED TO CALCULATE CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS IN SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT?

In California, and used in the San Diego Superior Courts, the statewide uniform guideline to determine child support orders:

  • CS = K[HN–(H%)(TN)].
  • Child support amount is CS

Amount of both parents' income to be allocated for child support set forth in more detail below is K

High earner's net monthly disposable income is H

Approximate percentage of parenting time that the high earner will have or has primary physical responsibilities for the children as compared to the other parent is H%. For those cases which parents have different children with different time-sharing arrangements, then H% will equal the average of the percentages [approximately] of time the high earner parent spends with each child or children if more than two.

Total net monthly disposable income of both parties is TN

HOW DOES THE SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT CALCULATE THE NET DISPOSABLE INCOME?

Under California Family Law Code Section 4059, the formula continues for the net disposable income.

K (which is defined as the amount of income for both parents allocated for child support) will equal one plus H% (if H% is equal or less than50 percent) or two minus H% (if H% is greater than 50 percent) which will then be multiplied by the following fraction:

Total Net Disposable

Income Per Month
$0.00 - $800.00
$801.00 - $6,666.00
$6,667.00 - $10,000.00
Over $10,000.00
K
0.20 + TN/16,000
0.25
0.10 + 1,000/TN
0.12 + 800/TN

For more than one child, multiply CS by:

Two children:
Three children:
Four children:
Five children:
Six children:
Seven children:
Eight children:
Nine children:
Ten children:
X 1.600
X 2.000
X 2.300
X 2.500
X 2.625
X 2.750
X 2.813
X 2.844
X 2.860

SOME OTHER CONSIDERATIONS IN THE FORMULA

There are many other considerations in the formula and very complicated.

HOW CAN A SAN DIEGO LAW FIRM HELP WITH YOUR CHILD SUPPORT, OR OTHER FAMILY ISSUE, CASE?

The Law Office of Doppelt and Forney, APLC can represent you in San Diego Superior Court in your pending child support or family law case. They offer a complimentary and confidential consultation up to 30 minutes in their office by appointment. Feel free to call and schedule your appointment today to protect your legal rights and try and obtain your legal goals.