• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Divorce Magazine

Since 1996 Divorce Magazine has been the Internet's leading website on divorce and separation. We provide advice about divorce law, divorce lawyers, family law, custody, support and other divorce related issues along with a directory of divorce professionals.

  • Home
  • Divorce Professionals
    • Add Your Listing Here
  • Blog
    • Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
    • Children’s and Parenting Issues after Divorce
    • Considering Divorce
    • Co-Parenting after Divorce
    • Coping with Divorce
    • Financial Issues
    • Inspirational Stories and Advice
    • Legal Issues
    • Relationships and Dating
    • Becoming a Blogger for DivorceMag.com
    • Video Blogging
  • Articles
    • Alimony and Spousal Support
    • Child Support
    • Child Custody
    • Children and Divorce
    • Coping with Divorce
    • Divorce and Annulment
    • Divorce News and Statistics
    • Family Lawyers
    • Financial Issues
    • Legal Issues
    • Relationships and Dating
    • Write for Us
    • General
  • FAQs
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • eNewsletter
  • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Press Releases
    • Submit an Article
    • Be Our Professional Blogger
    • Become a Blogger
    • Contact Us

What is child support?

Get the full scoop on child custody as far as what it is, what guidelines determine it, and who has the right to it, including helpful answers concerning potential problems with the paternity of your child.

By Hal Bartholomew Updated: August 16, 2019Categories: Child Support, Child Support, FAQs

What is child support?

California family lawyer Hal Bartholomew answers: Child support refers to the legal obligation to support a child financially or an amount owed to a county for reimbursement of public assistance paid to support that child. The father and mother of a minor child have an equal responsibility to support the child.

Is there a child support guideline?

The California legislature enacted a statewide uniform child support guideline that adheres to the standard that a parent’s first and principal obligation is to support his or her minor children according to the parent’s circumstances and station in life. Therefore, child support obligations are not dischargeable in bankruptcy nor can a parent waive their child’s right to receive child support.

The support is determined by a software program, such as DissoMaster, that computes the guideline amount of child support from a variety of factors. For example, the software program will take into account the pre-tax incomes of both parents and the amount of time the child spends with each parent when setting the required amount of child support.

Who has the right to child support?

It is important to understand what children qualify as minor children and therefore have a right to support. Minor children include:

  1. Unborn children
    1. A duty of support can be assessed against a father while the mother is still pregnant.
  2. Children conceived by artificial insemination
    1. If the mother was inseminated by another man with her husband’s consent, then the child is treated as her husband’s natural child and the donor is not obligated to pay support.
  3. Adopted children & step-children
    1. Parents that adopt children and/or step-children during the marriage are obligated to support their adopted children, even if they get a divorce just a few months after the adoption becomes final.

When does the obligation to pay child support terminate?

The duty to support the child terminates when the child is 18 years of age and out of high school. If the child is in high school, then support continues until the child graduates or turns 19, whichever is first.

Is a parent obligated to support the child during college?

A parent will only be expected to pay for college expenses if there is an agreement to do so that has been filed with the court and it is not an undue burden on the parent to do so. A judge may modify such an agreement if it is found to be too burdensome.

What if I’m not married and the paternity of my child is contested?

Paternity must be established regardless of the marital status of the parties. If the parties are not married, they will need to file a Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) with the court or contact the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). By filing the UPA with the court, the parties by-pass any delay they could experience with DCSS. However, some parties are not comfortable dealing directly with the court and therefore choose to go through DCSS. An attorney is helpful in this situation because they can easily handle the required paperwork and procedure involved in filing a UPA action. With DCSS, the parties will go through the Paternity Opportunity Program (POP) in order to establish paternity. Here, the parties will be asked whether paternity is contested and, if so, DCSS will perform a DNA test.

What if I’m married, but my spouse contests the paternity of our child?

If the parties are married, then the procedure to determine paternity is different. The parties will file a dissolution or legal separation action. Once the petition is filed and served on the other party, the party contesting the paternity needs to file an order to show cause or a notice of motion to request a court order for DNA testing. Under the California Family Code, it is assumed that the child is the husband’s biological child if the child was born during the marriage. If the DNA test proves that the husband is not the father, then the husband has two years from discovery of this information to renounce paternity. It is important that the husband brings a hearing to do this before the two year statute of limitations runs because otherwise he could be responsible for support for an indefinite period of time.


Sacramento family law and divorce lawyer, Hal Bartholomew is a partner of Bartholomew & Wasznicky LLP. He can be reached at 916-455-5200. View his Divorce Magazine online profile.

Related Content

  1. Brian Winters on New Jersey Child Support Guidelines & Enforcement
  2. Mark R. Baril On Child Custody, Child Support & Spousal Support in AB
  3. Department of Child Support Services enforcing child support orders

January 24, 2011 (0) Comments Categories: Child Support, Child Support, FAQs

Reader Interactions

Add A Comment Cancel reply

sidebar

 

Divorce Professionals

Divorce Lawyers

Divorce Mediators

Business Valuators / CPAs

Collaborative Practice






Divorce Magazine
2019 Spring Issue

Download Now

top divorce blog
Ranked as the #1 Divorce Blog on the Internet since 2016!

Recent Articles

  • Financial Matters During Divorce: Things to Consider

  • Tools To Help Save Your Marriage To An Addict

  • Why do Narcissists Always Ruin the Holidays? Here are 5 Reasons

  • 3 Helpful Tips for Coping with Financial Changes During Divorce

  • Kid’s Clothes and Divorce: Dirty, Clean Mixed With Dirty, or Missing!

Recent Posts

  • Financial Matters During Divorce: Things to Consider
  • Kid’s Clothes and Divorce: Dirty, Clean Mixed With Dirty, or Missing!
  • 5 Travel Tips for Blended Families
  • Negotiating Holiday Gift Giving After Divorce
  • Keeping Your Civil Partnership Dissolution as Painless as Possible

Footer

Helpful Divorce Article Categories:

  • Alimony and Spousal Support
  • Child Custody
  • Child Support
  • Children and Divorce
  • Divorce and Annulment
  • Divorce News and Statistics
  • Financial Issues
  • Legal Issues
  • Relationships and Dating
  • DivorceFAQs
  • Divorce Podcasts
  • Divorce Blogs


Visit Our Websites:

  • Divorce Marketing Group
  • Divorced Moms
  • The Divorce School

Follow Us on Social Media

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on Instagram
  • Contact Us
  • Writer's Guidelines
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 Divorce Marketing Group & Segue Esprit Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is prohibited.