Besides statewide child support guidelines, the court may consider each parent's share of the following factors:

• Gross income, which commonly includes but is not limited to salary and wages, bonuses, other sources of income, interest, and benefits related to disability, workers' compensation, and unemployment, and business profits. 
• Timeshare of the children.
• Childcare costs.
• Eligible tax deductions.
• Insurance costs.
• Job-related expenses.
• Financial hardships such as health expenses and living expenses.

After you get a child support court order through divorce or another case, the other parent must start making child support payments to you. The court order will include a start date for the child support.

In every case ordering child support, the court will order that a wage assignment (garnishment) be issued and served.  The wage assignment tells the employer of the person ordered to pay support to take the support payments out that person’s wages. 

Both parents can agree that payments can be made in some other way and can ask that service of the wage assignment (sending the wage assignment to the employer) be put on hold as long as a local child support agency is not involved in the case. In this situation, the parents work out how child support will be paid, and handle it between them.  

If the local child support agency is involved, the agency has to agree to have the wage assignment stopped.

Not paying child support can have very serious consequences. If the court finds that someone has the ability to pay support but is willfully not paying it, it can find that the person ordered to pay support is in contempt of court. Being in contempt of court could mean jail time for the person who is not paying the child support.  This enforcement tool is generally used only when all others have failed since it has such serious consequences.

You can apply for child support in California through a divorce case or by filing a child support case with the state. 

To do so, you will need to gather information about yourself, the other parent, and your child, including each party's income, contact information, and any existing court orders.

To get started, you can visit the DCSS website and use the online tool to determine if you are eligible for child support services. If you are eligible, you can then complete an application and submit it to your local DCSS office. You may also be able to complete the application process over the phone or in person at a DCSS office.

Once your application has been submitted, a DCSS representative will contact you to discuss the next steps in the process. This may include setting up a court hearing to determine the amount of child support that will be paid and establishing a payment plan.

If you don't have all the information you need to file for child support in California, you can still complete an application through the state's Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). However, you may need to provide as much information as possible in order to begin the process.

In some cases, the DCSS may be able to help you locate the other parent to gather the necessary information. This may include using databases and other resources to find the other parent's current address and employment information.

If you are unable to provide all of the necessary information, it's still a good idea to complete an application and submit it to your local DCSS office. This will help ensure that your application is on file and that you can begin the process of seeking child support as soon as the necessary information becomes available.

Sometimes, the amount of child support originally ordered in a California divorce settlement can be changed. For example, if a payor loses their job, they may be unable to continue making child support payments. In that case, the court may grant a child support modification.

If a payee loses their job, they may be unable to provide for their child and decide to ask for even more assistance from their ex-spouse. In that case, the court might also grant a child support modification.

In California, if a parent wants to modify a child support agreement, they must typically prove that there has been a “change in circumstance” that warrants the modification. The exception to this rule is if both parties previously signed and agreed to a child support amount below the guideline.

Proving a change in circumstance

If you want to get a child support order changed in California, you must first prove that a change in circumstance has occurred. This could be a change in income for either party, a change of the custodial timeshare, or a change in the statutory minimum child support. 

Other circumstances could also apply. For example, a child’s financial needs may increase due to an unforeseen health crisis. Or, one parent may become incarcerated, leaving the other parent to take complete responsibility for the child’s care.

In California, there are no minimum or maximum limits on the amount of child support that can be ordered by a court. Instead, the amount of child support that is paid is determined based on a number of factors, including the income of both parents, the number of children, and the amount of time each parent spends with the children.

To determine the amount of child support that will be paid, the court will use a set of guidelines known as the "California Child Support Guideline Formula." This formula takes into account a number of factors, such as the parents' incomes, the number of children, and the amount of time each parent spends with the children, to determine the amount of child support that should be paid. You can also use our Child Support Calculator here to help you get an estimate.

You can decide, or the court can decide, to deviate from the guideline formula and order a different amount of child support based on specific circumstances. For example, the court may order a higher or lower amount of child support if one parent has significantly higher income than the other, or if the child has special needs that require additional support.