Couples seeking divorce advice in Pasadena often have questions about California child support laws. Although there is a general formula for calculating child support, a parent can ask for various add-ons to the base support amount.
As you might expect, health care is often the subject of child support add-ons. If a child has special medical needs, such as requiring physical therapy or needing expensive prescription medication, provisions for this might be part of the child support agreement. But you can also ask for add-ons to child support if you do not have good insurance coverage and incur high out of pocket expenses for even routine medical care.
Child care costs for the custodial parent can be an add-on if the child care is necessary for the parent to go to work or to complete a job training program.
Travel expenses for visitation may be written in as a child support add-on if you and your ex live far apart and will incur significant costs for child visitation.
Fees for special educational or extracurricular activities can be considered a child support add-on depending upon the child's needs and what activities he or she participated in before the divorce.
Child support add-ons are either shared equally by the parents or allocated in proportion to their incomes. If the costs is allocated in proportion to the net spendable income, the higher earning parent will pay a larger share of the cost. The amount of child support already being paid is deducted from the paying parent's income, but not added to the income of the receiving parent, when net spendable income is determined for this purpose. If spousal support is involved, the amount is deducted from the paying person's income and added to the income of the person receiving it before net spendable incomes are determined.
How Can We Help?
If you have questions about the amount of child support you are entitled to receive, please call our office at (626) 683-8113 or email us at info@PasadenaLawOffice.com. Our Pasadena family law attorneys can help make sure that you get the support you need to provide for your child as you move on to the next phase of life.