Californian parents who are going through the divorce process will need to figure out what they intend to do in regard to child support. Figuring out who pays how much is crucial. So is sticking to support payment plans, as there can be strict penalties for missing payments.
FindLaw has provided a checklist of requirements for paying child support. The most important thing is setting your terms. This means deciding who pays, and how much they owe. This is usually determined based on the respective income of each parent, as well as who has primary custody if you don’t have joint custody.
Related to that, information should be kept up-to-date and child support modifications should be made if necessary. For example, if the parent paying child support loses their job, they should have the payments lowered because they aren’t making as much. Payments can also be lowered if the parent receiving support gets a higher-paying job, or remarries and therefore gains a secondary source of income for the family.
It’s also important to keep information on hand. If you ever need to modify your support plans, you will need to contact the family law attorney, your co-parent and their attorney, state administration, and more. Child support withholdings can also be established. This allows a parent to avoid missing a child support payment by having it withdrawn automatically.
If you are dealing with figuring out child custody, you may want to seek out the aid of a legal professional. They can help regardless of whether you will be the one receiving payment, or the one needing to make payments.
