Recent Posts in Child Support Category

• If you can, try to research CCP § 1008, including looking at some legal treatise or the reported appellate decisions that mention it
• New or different facts don't generally include things you forgot to mention, unless you have some really credible explanation of why you forgot
• You must explain to the Court what you learned, how and when you learned it, why you didn't learn it earlier, and why these new or different facts matter enough that the Court should render a different outcome.  If the other party withheld facts that you became aware of only after the hearing, you need to describe your reasonable diligence in having attempted to first get all the facts
• New facts are not the same as different facts.  Be specific
• Telling the judge you just think she was wrong is rarely helpful - judges know they will be wrong some of the time, and they are trained as much to just make a decision as to get it right (clearly they want to get it right).  Most of us don't like being told we are wrong and that is rarely a useful persuasive tool.  Instead, focus on the justice or injustice of the situation and be humble
• Explaining that you made a mistake without more is also risky, because lawyers and parties do make mistakes in presenting their cases but the law favors finality in decision-making.  Your  mistake needs to have been a reasonable one. 
• Always consider combining your reconsideration request with a request for relief under Code of Civil Procedure § 473, which is a very important statute that covers relief from orders or judgments that result from your inadvertence, surprise, mistake, or reasonable neglect

In your situation the question will be:  If you knew 10 days before the hearing that your time had been cut back, why didn't you mention it?  If you did mention it, then the Court considered your evidence and ruled against you, so this would not be new information. 

Also, how different would the outcome have been if the Court had considered or known of the cut backs in your work?  For instance, if those cut backs are partial and your income is 15% less than the Court supposed, this may not seem so important to the Judge that she thinks she needs to correct the unfairness of the result.  If it is 40% less, she might.  There are no hard and fast rules that can be applied with consistency.

It is quite common for clients to wind up hiring attorneys after they attempted to handle their case on their own, and it blew up at the hearing, and now they need desperately to get more or better information in front of the judge.  It is very difficult to "unring the bell." 

When these things happen they are a good lesson of why the adversarial court process is to be avoided whenever possible, and of the importance of finding and listening to a competent lawyer early on in your case.

Thurman W. Arnold
http://www.ThurmanArnold.com

Q.     The district attorney's office intercepted our tax refund to pay past due child support.  If we divorce do I get any of this money back?

Q.  How is child support calculated in California?  I have heard about "Guideline Support" but am wondering what this means?

A.  In 1993 California adopted a Statewide Uniform Guideline to come into compliance with a federal mandate.  (Family Code section 4050).  This followed wide variability of orders and a prior failed attempt to ensure predictability.  Its effect was to greatly increase the monies available to children and to begin to end gender bias in assessing support.    Family Code section 4052 requires California court Commissioners to adhere to the uniform guidelines and to "depart from the guideline only in special circumstances...." 

Family Code section 4053 lists principles to be followed by the Court in implementing the guidelines.  This is a statute worth reviewing, and using to remind family court judges of what our State child support policy is.  These include the directives that:

(1)  A parent's first and principal obligation is to support their minor children "according ot the parent's circumstances and station in life."

(2)  Both parents are mutually responsible.

(3)  The guideline must take into account each parent's actual income and the level of responsibility for the children.

(4)  "Each parent should pay for the support of the children or according to his or her ability."

(5)  The interests of children are the State's top priority.

(6)  Children should share in the standard of living of both parents.  Child support may therefore be appropriately used to increase the standard of living of the custodial household to improve the lives of the children.

(7)  Disparities of living standards in both homes, particularly where both parents have high levels of responsibility for raising the children, should be minimized through the use of guideline child support orders.

(8)  A parent having primary physical responsibility for the children (a term that is nowhere defined in the Family Code) is presumed to be contributing a significant portion of their available financial resources to the support of these children.

(9)  The guideline is intended to encourage settlement between parents by creating predictability.

(10)  The guideline is presumptively correct in all cases, and ony in special circumstance should child support orders be less than guideline.

(11)  Child support orders must reflect the greater standard of living and costs of living in California as opposed to other states. 

California Family Code section 4055 sets forth the formula for assessing guideline support.  Don't even bother to look at it, you will need to be a mathematician or logics teacher to understand or explain it.  While gross income numbers (or imputed income) are used, the guideline tax effects this income so that net income is generally what is determinative - however, this complicates doing the math.  The percentage of parent's income allocated to children is called the "K" factor, and this number moves depending upon how many children there are.  It assumes, for instance, that 26% of the joint income of most families is spent on families with one child, and 60% where there are three children.  Forturnately these calculations are done for us through computer programs.  The most common are the Dissomaster and Xspouse, which I will explain further in another blog.  Riverside County in Indio utilizes the Xspouse.  The Xspouse is a spin off from the people who devised the Dissomaster, after they had a parting of the ways.

Child support always takes precedence over spousal support, or personal expenses.  Relative timeshare between the parents is a major factor in using the formula - the higher the noncustodial parent's timeshare, the less they pay. 

Unfortunately this means in practice that there is much legal wrestling between parents about timeshare that has nothing to do with the children's best interests but often everything to do with economic warfare.  I write about this in separate articles detailing Collaborative Law processes where we attempt to refocus parents on best interests rather than legal rights (per the guideline formula, for instance) so that primary parent's (often mothers) will give up more custodial time and fathers will pay a little more for this time and then actually undertake using that time (as opposed to having it on paper in a court order, but generally ignoring the increased responsibilities).  Please see this link to our Collaborative Divorce Team.

Importantly, even when courts order child or spousal support to women, studies have shown that most children who are entitled to child support from their fathers never receive it (Huang, Mincy, and Garfinkel, 2005). There may be a number of reasons for this. One determinant of fathers meeting these obligations is their ability to pay.  Researchers have found that when child support obligations exceed 35% of a father' sincome, he is less like to comply (Meyer and Barfeld, 1996).  Lower earner fathers are generally required to pay a higher proportion of their income in child support in child support than higher earners, which pressures the poorest members of our society (Huang, et al., 2005).

Women in heterosexual relationships, as single parents (or child-caretaking partners), are at greatest risk of becoming systemically impoverished (Strong, et al., 2008). Following divorce, women are principally responsible for both child-rearing and their own economic support. At a minimum a woman may suffer a significant decrease in her financial condition. Studies have shown that a single mother's income may decrease by twenty-seven percent or more.  (Peterson, 1996; Smock, 1993).  [Please contact me if you want the actual citations to these studies].

These realities may or may not interest you.  They do affect children and parents in very deep ways, nonetheless.

In any event, now that you have the background I will provide more detailed information on how the Xspouse and Dissomaster programs work in practice very soon.  Try using our search engine at the upper right corner of any page on this site and you will find those articles when they are up.

TWA

Q.  I remarried in August, 2009, and my new wife is a doctor.  She has one child from her prior marriage and I have two.  I am still paying my former wife alimony and child support even though the kids we have together live at our home 40% of the time.  I have been hit hard by the economy and we largely depend upon my wife's medical income to make ends meet.  Now my ex is threatening to take me back to court to increase my support based upon my new wife's income, while my own income is down from when the court last decided it.  My new wife is upset at the idea that my ex can learn anything about the medical practice or income.  What should I do?

A.  If there has been a material decrease in your income since the time of your last order, you may safely file a support modification motion to lower your child support and to lower or possibly terminate your spousal support.  Whether that is advisable based upon your numbers has nothing to do with your new mate's income, and should not cause you to hesitate - but again, it does depend on the actual respective numbers between you and Wife 1, which you did not provide me.  You also need not worry about W1 filing a motion to increase (you can't stop her, but she will not win based on W2's earnings).  Maybe you should give her this link so she will think twice.

California law is quite clear that new mate income cannot generally be considered against you in ordering or modifying child or spousal support.  The controlling California Family statute is section 4057.5.

In the normal situation, Family Code section 4057.5 leaves the Court no discretion to consider your new wife's earnings, period.  You do not need to report those earnings on your FL-150 (Income and Expense Declaration). This is a statement of California legislative policy effective in 1993 when this section was added to the Family Code.  This is true for both spousal and child support.

However, section 4057.5 does contain an exception for the "extraordinary case" which the statute makes clear is intended to address situations where "where excluding that income would lead to extreme and severe hardship to any child subject to the child support award" or where "a parent ... voluntarily or intentionally quits work or reduces income, or who intentionally remains unemployed or underemployed and relies on a subsequent spouse's income."  Even if the court were to find a severe hardship on the children of marriage number one, it would be required not to impose a severe hardship on your wife's child by reallocating her income to you for purposes of supporting your two children. 

In practice, so far, Courts almost never find facts sufficient overcome this clear statutory prohibition.  So far there is no published California appellate decision defining these extraordinary circumstances.  No doubt one day someone will so abuse this protection and hide behind it that we will get a reported decision that fleshs out how bad someone needs to behave before the protection is lost.  But "extraordinary" means really extraordinary.  In the average case, your new Wife has nothing to be concerned about. 

With regard to attorneys fee awards, however, there is authority for an argument that new mate income may be considered in granting or denying an attorney fee request, but the odds are against a judge doing that.

Incidentally, this section also applies to income from nonmarital partners as well as new spouses.  In one reported case (IRMO Loh), a trial court was reversed for inceasing dad's child support obligation after the mother produced photos of the father's "lifetyle" to show imputed nontaxable income in the form of his new girlfriend's contributions to him, since she paid for all his toys. 

The new mate question is a subset of the "imputed income" situations where a father or mother may quit work or reduce hours because they are relying on their new mate to contribute the difference.  That is not likely going to be an extraordinary case, but  W1 can separately seek to impute income to you on the basis that you have a higher earning capacity than you are exercising.  Earning capacity and imputed income is a blog for another day.  Also, I will mention here that another argument exists in favor of W1 that has nothing to do with the right to obtain the records or income of W2:  Equalizing the lifestyle's of the two households where yours is rich and grandiose and W1 is impoverished (an extreme example) pursuant to FC section 4057(b)(4).

The tax returns are privileged as they relate to your new wife's medical practice.  For instance, if she is a medical corporation (which I recommend be set up), she will almost never be forced to divulge those records.  Even as to your joint returns, you may be entitled to redact the information concerning your new spouse or have the Court review them in camera (meaning they are not turned over to the other side).  Your former mate is entitled to see your side of the tax returns, however, and they are not insulated from scrutiny simply because you filed joint with the Doctor Wife.  If you don't file jointly, your former wife will almost certainly never get her hands on your new wife's Married Filing Separately (MFS) returns.  Structuring things this way may or may not be advisable and you should consult a tax accountant.

An interesting twist here is that because you marry a higher, wealthy earner, your taxes actually increase because under federal IRS (and the California FTB), you are responsible for one-half of your new mate's income - and this is true even if you don't file jointly.  One case (County of Tulare vs. Campbell) has held that this additional tax you become liable for can form the basis for a reduction in your support because you have less net income available for support after the tax hit is deducted.  Hence, based on these tax consequences you may have an additional argument for decreased support - although a Court may try to deny you some discretionary offset to even the score since this feels a bit unfair to the spouse who is  primarily supporting the children and so lessen the downward modification.

The take-away:  So long as you are not playing games, have not intentionally reduced your income by relying upon your new mate's income, and there is no really extraordinary difference in the two households, your new wife's income is just not relevant and so it is protected.

The Tax Court rules that noncustodial father is not entitled to claim dependency exemption because custodial-parent M failed to complete Form 8332 releasing exemption and disso judgment, which father attached to return, does not contain substantially same information.

This is a really common situation, where a parent wrongfully claims a child or children on their tax return despite the fact the other parent is entitled to it that year according to the terms of a Judgment or Order.  It holds that despite the language of a Judgment, without Form 8332 signed and attached to the return, the IRS will not recognize the deduction. 

You still have your claims against the other parent, however, but now you have avoidable attorney fees or must waste your own valuable time enforcing your rights.

Click here to download IRS Form 8332.

TWA

Thomas v. Commissioner [full text] (1/19/10) TCM 2010-11, No. 17922-08 (Vasquez) 2010 WL 174107. When Arizona resident (F) was divorced from M in 6/94, their disso judgment awarded custody of their 3-year-old daughter (C) to M; F was awarded 30 days of visitation in summer, plus reasonable visitation in C’s state of residence. F was also ordered to pay child support of $400/mo through AZ T/CT. Disso judgment further provided that M would claim dependency exemption and child tax credit for tax year 1995 and succeeding odd-numbered years, while F would claim exemption and credit in even-numbered years if he was current in his child-support payments. M was required to execute necessary forms to permit F to claim exemption and credit, but only if F’s child-support payments were not in arrears.

In 2006, F was not delinquent in his child-support payments for C, who lived with M in Ohio. On his 2006 federal income tax return, prepared by CPA, F claimed dependency exemption and child care credit, but CPA subsequently notified him that his return was rejected from electronic filing because someone else claimed dependency exemption. CPA then filed F’s paper return, to which F attached copy of disso judgment, but not IRS Form 8332 exemption release. IRS sent deficiency notice to F, claiming that he was not entitled to claim either dependency exemption or child tax credit. F then petitioned U.S. Tax Court for relief, but TAX COURT RULES FOR IRS. Tax Ct finds that (1) per IRC §152(e), F, as non-custodial parent, was not entitled to claim dependency exemption unless (a) C received more than half of her support from M and F, (b) M and F were divorced, separated, or living separate and apart for last 6 mos. of 2006, (c) C was in custody of either M or F more than half of 2006, and (d) M, as custodial parent, released dependency exemption and F attached Form 8332 release or document conforming to its substance to his return ; (2) F could meet conditions (a), (b), and (c), but not (d); (3) disso judgment did not qualify as conforming document because it lacked Social Security numbers for M and F, M’s signature was not dated, and release of exemption was conditioned on F’s being current with child-support payments; (4) F could not claim dependency exemption; and (5) F’s being unable to claim dependency exemption meant that he was also ineligible to claim child tax credit. Tax Ct concludes that although it is sympathetic to F’s predicament, it is bound by statutes and regs as written.

Q. Who is responsible to pay child support in California?

A.  As used in the California Family Code, "child support" is an obligation owing on behalf of a child or an amount owing to a county for reimbursement of public assistance paid on behalf of a child. The concept also includes past due support and arrears, and includes maintenance and education. Parents have an equal responsibility to support their child in the manner suitable to the child's circumstances.  Family Code section 3900.

Q. Do grandparents owe child support?

A. Grandparents have no legal duty to support grandchildren, except in cases where they have a right to actual physical custody or court ordered visitation.

Q. What if I wasn't married to the Mother?

A. If you are the biological parent or otherwise become the legal parent of a child, you have a duty of support. However, it does need to be established that you are the bio dad or a legal or de facto parent before support can be ordered. In cases involving unmarried parents, this is typically accomplished through a [VDP Voluntary Declaration of Paternity] per FC section 7573. Often the DCSS (Department of Child Support Services) or other LCSA (local child support agency) files a paternity action to establish support for a mother who has requested support enforcement services or is receiving county aid.

If you are never identified as the bio parent for a child, you will not be found to owe support absent due process. However, you if you know are the parent but fail or refuse to support your child, you may have committed a crime.

Q. What if my parental rights have been terminated by the juvenile or family courts?

A. Parents whose parental rights have been terminated by court degree, or whose children have been adopted out, cease to have a support obligation (although they may continue to owe support for prior periods) as to those child after the date of the decree.

Also, there is no support obligation for an emancipated minor child.  But a child who has been emancipated by court order can become unemancipated upon their own application, or upon the county's application, if they are considered indigent and unable to care for themselves.

Q. What if my new spouse owes child support? Is this my responsibility?

A. The community property is liable to pay support debts predating your marriage, but there is a right of reimbursement.  Indeed, the community liable for all separate debts of either spouse. However, there is a specific right of reimbursement in qualifying situation as set forth in FC section 915.

Q. Who enforces child support?

A. A parent can enforce it. A guardian can enforce it. The county on behalf of the child can enforce it, and can enforce it on its own behalf to be reimbursed for monies paid to another on behalf of the child.  

Q. How are out of state child support orders enforced?

A. These are enforced pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. 

Q. What if my parents have been supporting my kids while I was in rehab?

A. You have no obligation to reimburse them absent either (a) an agreement to do so, (b) an existing court order to do so; or (c) the county has provided benefits, in which case the reimbursement is to the county.  FC section 3951.

Likewise, you have no obligation to reimburse the other parent absent one of the above.

Q. Can child support orders be made retroactive in a court proceeding?

A. Except when the county has paid benefits, or possibly where a third party has provided necessaries like food, shelter, or clothing for the benefit of a child living with you under certain circumstances, the earliest a support order can be made effective is the date any initial pleading is filed in a court proceeding.  FC Section 4009.

However, if you were not served with the papers within 90 days of that initial filing, support can only be ordered retroactive to the date a motion seeking support was filed.

Most judges will order support retroactive to the first or the fifteenth day of the month.  This means that if you file for support on April 2nd, your order may only go back to April 15 but if you filed March 27th, your order would become effective on April 1.  You should time your filing to maximize retroactivity.

To the extent your partner has contributed monies to your support voluntarily before the order becomes effective, they will usually receive a credit off-set against the support award for the time period in question (i.e., if support commences April 1, they will not likely receive credits for payments made prior to that time).  These payments do not need to be paid to you directly for the credit to apply, as where a mortgage or rent payment is made.

Q. How long does child support last?

Q.  My ex wife, who is getting child support from me, has twice claimed our daughter on our taxes. We are supposed to alternate each year.  I took her back to Court, and the Judge ordered that I get to alternate with her.  She keeps filing.  What can I do?

Q.  Can the property I owned before marriage be taken to pay for my husband's unpaid child support from his first marriage?

Q.  I have two children from a previous marriage.  I remarried two years ago, and my new spouse earns $8,500 month.  While my hours have been reduced during this recession and my monthly gross averages $3,500.  The ex is threatening to take me back to Court to increase child support based upon my new mate's income.  Can she do this?

A.  Of course ex-spouses can always take the other back to court, but that doesn't mean they will win.  We call these support modification proceedings.  In order to obtain a new order, she must prove there has been some material change of circumstances with regard to her needs, the childrens' needs, or your ability to pay a greater sum in support.

The key California statute on when and how new mate income can be considered is Family Code section 4057.5.  The basic rule is that courts cannot consider new mate or nonmarital partner income in the context of making child support or support spousal orders.  This means as a general proposition that your new wife's income of $8,500/month is not to be inputted into the support guideline formulas. 

There are two exceptions where new mate income may need to be disclosed and where it can be considered in setting child support:  1) Where there are "extraordinary circumstances" that would cause the exclusion of this income to create an extreme or severe hardship to a supported child.  However, if this hardship is shown, the court must first consider the effect of inclusion of new mate income on any other children including the new mate's children, and so that their interests trump the hardship to the child for which support orders are being sought.  2) By marrying somebody with high earnings, a spouse will pick up additional taxes based upon the other's income.  Since as far as the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is concerned, you are liable under community property laws for one-half of your new mate's income, regardless whether you file jointly, the added tax consequences upon this additional income can actually be the basis for a downward decrease in child support (County of Tulare v. Campbell) since there is less after tax income available to you from which to pay support.

There are very few reported California appellate decision on new mate income or which explain how FC section 4057.5 is to be applied.  In Marriage of Loh (93 CA4 325) a mother/former spouse convinced a trial court, based upon photos of the father's extravagant lifestyle (homes, cars, etc.) which were funded by his girlfriend's income and assets, to impute income to him for purposes of basing a child support award.  The appellate court reversed, stating "Evidence of lifestyle, particularly a lifestyle subsidized by a new 'nonmarital partner', is not a cheap substitute for proper discovery of income reported on tax returns."

In a very recent appellate decision (Marriage of Knowles (Oct. 2009) 178 CA4 35) a trial court was reversed after it accepted the former wife's argument that the community property income and assets of both he and his new wife should be used to determine his income available for support.  The trial court's mistake was include the half that belonged to the new wife, although it could have included just the half that belong to him.   There was no evidence of extreme hardship that justified considering the new mate's half. 

We’ve waited a long time for another case dealing with consideration of new-mate income under Fam C §4057.5. One of the few cases that has, In re Marriage of Wood (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1059 is cited here, but it came down in 1995. Neither the statute nor the cases provide any definitive answer regarding what actually constitutes either an “extraordinary case” or an “extreme and severe hardship,” although Wood seems to say that new-mate income can be considered where one of the parents is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.

Rather than arguing for NMI (new mate income), a party seeking to have income assigned to a person who has remarried or is living with a nonmarital partner may find more success by arguing that income should be imputed to that spouse on the basis that they have an earning capacity which is not being realized.  For instance, if because your new spouse had sufficient income you chose to quit work or take a lower paying job it might appear you are shirking your support responsibilities.  Rather than charging you with NMI, a trial court could find that you had the ability to earn X dollars a month and so charge you for this phantom income by making that the basis for a support award.  Then, the community property (including your new mate's share) could be tapped to satisfy this obligation.

Incidentally, a California prenup can be an effective way to limit this exposure.

Q.  What rights do I have to permanent spousal support?

A.  Permanent spousal support is not usually "permanent," although it can be in cases of very long marriages.  Lawyers and judges also refer to it as post-judgment spousal support, alimony, judgment spousal support, or long term support.

Unlike temporary spousal support, long term spousal support is only issued after a final judgment of Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation.  It is equally available to domestic partners.  Also unlike temporary support, it is not based on any computer formula or state or county guideline, but must be determined and fixed depending on the facts of every individual case.  If long term support is important to your future wellbeing, you are going to need an experienced support attorney.

There are several very important rules to keep in mind.  First, a marriage in California which lasts more than 10 years (defined as the time between date of marriage and physical separation), is "long term" marriage.  The general rule is that in marriages which are not long term, spousal support should not be payable for more than one-half the length of marriage - or to put in differently, the law presumes that the recipient spouse should be rehabilitated and so become self-supporting in a period equal to 1/2 the marriage.  However, this presumption becomes less important in cases involving older couples, especially where people can not be realistically expected to re-enter the work force, in cases where there children who remain minors, or where the party asking for support has a debilitating disease or disability.

There is no magic ratio for how long a former spouse might be ordered to pay long term support.  Each case depends upon its own facts, the quality of your attorney, and the attitudes of the family court judge.  Even in cases of long term marriages, the support obligation typically will end at some point in time.  However, if usually will not end on its own - meaning that when a trial court orders long term support it will reserve jurisdiction to continue to extent it, until some time when a party petitions the court to terminate support and a judge finally says "enough is a enough." 

Imputed income is often an important argument in long term support marriages, where one party convinces the court that the other party is shirking or failing to genuinely try to become self-supporting.  It is sometimes necessary to have the supported spouse evaluated by a vocational rehabilitation expert. 

There are four components to an award of of permanent support:  1) Amount; 2) duration; 3) substantive increases or decreases over time; and 4) jurisdictional step downs and ultimately a termination date.

Second, Family Code section 4320 is a critical support statute.  I have provided a link and uploaded it so that you may read it.  Essentially it sets forth all the factors that the court must consider in setting post-judgment support, and you will see that it is not an exhaustive list and the court can consider anything else it deems important to the decision.  Support factors include the extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the marital standard of living established during the marriage, considering:  a) the marketable skills of the supported party, the job market for those skills, the time and expense required to train that party including education and b) the extent to which the supported party's present or future income earning ability is impaired by periods of unemployment or were incurred during the marriage to permit that party to devote time to domestic duties.

Another factor is whether the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, license, career, or position by the supporting party. 

Another factor is the ability of the supporting party to pay, taking in account that person's earning capacity, income, and assets and standard of living.

Another very important support consideration is the needs of each party - including both. 

Another factor is the obligations and assets of each spouse, including the separate property which each has or gained upon the dissolution.

Another is the ability of the supported spouse to engage in gainful employment without interfering with the needs of dependent children in their custody.

The age and health of the parties is critical in some cases.  65 years of age is the presumed retirement age for adults today, and courts cannot order a person to continue to be employed beyond that age - but, if they make that choice, their income can be considered.

A documented history of domestic violence can affect the right to receive support or the obligation to pay it.

The tax consequences between the parties must be considered.

And, basically, as I said, any other specific facts that trend one way or another.

The three most common factors are the marital standard of living (MSOL), need and ability to pay, and the assets the parties end up with upon divorcing.

Courts cannot order lump sums for support.  Spousal support is generally taxable to the recipient and deductible to the payor, but there are very specific IRS requirements that must be met for this to actually be so.

Courts are required to state their findings on each relevant issue in writing.  In practice though, most people settle their divorce cases by way of settlement agreements.  Unfortunately, lawyers often leave out these findings so that when a court is asked, down the road, by the payor to terminate or decrease support, or by the payee to increase it, there is no map for the court to use to base its modification findings on.

If support is an issue for you either way, please hire a competent lawyer.  There are many attorneys moving into family law from civil practices who are clueless about these things.  Caveat emptor!

Q.  How is temporary spousal support calculated in California?

A.  In order to be entitled to spousal support, parties must be married or be registered domestic partners.  Spousal support (which is not usually referred to alimony in California) is available in dissolution proceedings, actions for legal separation, and in connection with domestic violence applications. 

Spousal support orders may be temporary, or they be what is called permanent.  Different rules apply to how temporary support is figured than to permanent or long-term support.  I address permanent spousal separately.

Temporary spousal support is designed to preserve the status quo pending a final judgment.  Family Code section 3600 provides that during the pendency for dissolution of marriage or legal separation or in any proceeding where there is at issue the support of a minor child, the court may order the husband or wife to pay any amount that is necessary for the support of the husband and wife (subject to limitations contained in FC section 4320 and FC section 4325).  Again, parties dissolving domestic partnerships may also be awarded support.

Temporary spousal support has nothing to do with the length of the marriage.  Courts look at what the spending pattern was pre-separation and issues a spousal support award based upon need.  If there isn't enough money on the basis of need, then an amount is ordered based upon the higher earner's ability to pay.  A party seeking spousal support isn't deprived on the right to receive support even if they have income - the question is the relative income circumstances of the two parties.

Most California counties have formulas that determine temporary spousal support, but the two most important are Santa Clara and Alameda counties.  Essentially the spousal support formula for Santa Clara County - which is the dominant one - is as follows:  From any amount which is not allocated to child support, take 40% from the net income of the payor spouse, less 50% from the net income of the recipient spouse.  The resulting number is the temporary spousal support.  You do not need to have children to be entitled to receive spousal support.

As a practical matter, courts typically use one of two computer programs that generate these numbers:  Either the Dissomaster or Xspouse.  The Indio courts use Xspouse and the Santa Clara guidelines.

Into one of these programs are inputted the respective gross incomes of the parties.  If there are children of the parties, the custodial timeshare in percentages is inputted (because only a party who has physical custody for more than 50% of the year can claim the tax benefits of HH/MLA or head of household status, the programs require one to be considered to have 51% even in true joint custody arrangements). 

Only certain expenses matter for purposes of temporary support in California.  What doesn't matter at all is most personal expenses (like mortgage payments, utilities, debt).  This effectively ignores the entire debt structure of the parties at time of separation.  Health insurance, union dues, and mandatory contributions to retirement (i.e., typically not IRA contributions), and obligations existing to other minor children living in one party's home, or as to which an actual court order requires they make support payments, are also entered.  The support program 'tax effects' these numbers and figures out the net incomes of the parties.  It renders a number that tells the Court how much the higher earning spouse must pay for purposes of a court order.

Since the court determines the support obligation some weeks after a request for support is made (by way of Motion for Order to Show Cause application), it typically makes the support order retroactive to the date of the filing for the request.  Most courts order support payable one-half on the first and fifteenth of the month.  For this reason, if you file for support on the 5th day of the month, the court will not make support retroactive to the 1st but will start of the obligation on the 15th day of the month.

This might sound like temporary spousal support is easy to fix and who needs a lawyer?  This is not at all the case.  The final support numbers depend begin with how much income the Court is attributing to each party.  Each is required to submit before the hearing an Income and Expense Declaration ( form FL-150).

For instance:  A husband's (and wife's) income numbers are usually but not always based upon historical earnings, and the California judicial council form ( FL-150) requires both to set forth there total gross for the past 12 months and also the past month.  The legal assumption is that historical earnings are a reliable guide to future earnings, but this may not be at all true.  Especially in today's economy, historical earnings may not be indicative of what the income stream will be going forward.  This information needs to be credibly presented to the Court.

In cases where one party is a self-employed spouse, their net pre-tax earnings must be determined after deducting business expenses.  This is a common and complex area of dispute, because what is deductible for purposes of Schedule C accompanying a tax return according to the federal government is in no way binding upon California courts for purposes of figuring support.  If somebody works from home and charges part of the mortgage expense as a business deduction, that expense may be added back into the income stream as being available for support.

Another support battleground often involves imputed income.  What if one party refuses to work, or insists on working at a lower paying job?  Perhaps a support recipient believes they will get more money from their spouse if they have no job but if they tried to get one, they could?  What if one party claims that they aren't working and that no jobs are available?  Imputing income cuts both ways, and is extremely sophisticated. I will address another blog to it.

Incidentally, while only temporary alimony is calculated in this way, child support is always figured in this manner regardless whether there is a spousal support obligation.

Enforcing California Child Support and Alimony Orders

Wage Assignments

Support Contempt Proceedings

Writ of Execution/Receiver

Interest; Bankruptcy; Renewal of Judgments in Support Cases

Attorney's Fees in Collecting Unpaid Support

UIFSA in California

Child Support Civil Penalty

Child Support Security Fund

Department of Child Support Services Enforcement

QUESTION:  Is overtime a factor in considering child support?

Q.  My girlfriend is having our baby in September, but I don't know if I am the dad.  I really care about her but a friend told me that I need to be careful because if I go to the hospital with her, I have to pay support no matter what.  Is this true?  What is she files a paternity action?

Keith:

California law encourages hospitals to get a signed Voluntary Declaration of Paternity ("VDOP") from the male who appears to be a parent at a time when a mother gives birth.  This is something that is presented to proud fathers at the time of a child's birth, along with information about legal obligations, and that they are asked to sign.  There may be alot of guilt and confusion going on at this time.  Hopefully there is simply pride.

The public policy is that the State wants to identify biological fathers early on, and to encourage them to step up to the plate both financially and in terms of providing emotional parenting to children.  It is also assumed the male who shows up for the birth is most likely the bio dad, and that the parties know it.  Obviously, it is not always true and sometimes a man does not turn out to be the actual father.  Sometimes he believes he is, and sometimes he is told he is.

Children need their biological parents; this is critically important.  Any bio parent who shirks his responsibility out of financial or emotional selfishness lacks integrity, and their decision has serious consequences on other lives that a true parent will recognize and regret one day, unless they are a sociopath or lack any conscience.

BUT the signing of a VDOP has serious important legal consequences.  It is equivalent to a Judgment of Paternity, which may only be set aside for a limited time.  While children deserve parents, whether a man that has sex with a mother before a child is born should be determined based only upon that, and their sense of moral responsibility, and therefore to be adjudged a responsible parent also raises integrity and fairness questions in favor of the alleged parent.  While California law on this subject means well, and may statistically result in the proper outcome more times than not, in my view innocent men who turn out not to be biological parents have rights too.  The law says so too, and the question becomes whether you or not you waive your rights to object in a timely fashion.

So, please understand, if you sign a voluntary declaration of paternity next month, you may be adjudicated the legal father of this child regardless whether you are the bio parent.  That has privileges and it has burdens.  You will have the privilege (assuming the mother does not challenge you before two years after the child's birth) of being a "legal parent" whatever the DNA turns out to be, including rights to custody, visitation, companionship, etc..  You will also have the legal financial burdens which I describe under my support obligations FAQ's.  For a long, long time, and even possibly forever. 

Family Code section 7573 establishes the effect of a VDOP.  Section 7575 allows you to rescind that declaration but only if you do so within 60 days after birth of the child.  Otherwise, after birth, you have a 2 year window to seek paternity DNA testing and an order that you are not, in fact, the bio-dad.  The court has discretion to find you are the de facto parent even if you are not bio-dad, however, so even if DNA is conclusive and you are not otherwise the father - absent another man ready, willing, and able to step up, you may find yourself stuck.

These are weighty matters.  In my experience, and in most judge's experiences, woman know who the dad is.  Still, there are many reasons why a mother might lie - even including trying to insure that some bad person is never adjudicated the dad.  I would never judge your girlfriend and have no opinion on what your status truly is.

So, do what your heart tells you you are the dad, fine.  But consider getting DNA testing immediately before you, or the child and you, form any attachments and that way there will never be any question - nor any need to hire me to dispute paternity! 

Best of luck and, hopefully, congratulations!

TWA