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Posted on March 3, 2020 in Child Support,Court,Family Law
Are you having trouble paying your child support order? Depending on your financial circumstances, you may be entitled to a deduction.
First, we have to acknowledge that California child support uses a “Guideline” calculation. The Guideline takes into consideration these main factors:
Using the same calculation in every case leads to uniform application of the law. The exact formula can be found in Family Code section 4055 and is somewhat complex. Thankfully, there is a software to greatly simplify the calculation.
Under certain circumstances, California law recognizes that the Guideline may need to be adjusted. Family Code section 4070 states that extreme financial hardship due to justifiable expenses resulting from specified circumstances may be taken into consideration. The “specified circumstances” are listed in Family Code section 4071, and include extraordinary health expenses and uninsured catastrophic losses; expenses for children of other legal relationships residing with the parent. So, Section 4071 limits the so-called “hardship deductions” to only two circumstances, but they are common circumstances that apply to many cases.
When the hardship deduction is applied to the parent paying child support, child support will likely be lower than without the deduction.
Your child support case may warrant a hardship deduction. If you would like to speak with a San Diego child support attorney regarding your case, call Scott Family Law at 1-858-974-4900. Our office resides in San Diego, but we proudly serve all areas of Southern California.
