This is a question I often get from clients who pay child support.
If you are currently paying alimony then you know in California there is a formula of guidelines that courts follow to determine the amount the paying party must give to the custodial parent.
In general, both parties have a financial obligation to provide support for their children and this obligation is determined by a very popular program known as “Dissomaster” This tax based program takes into account the income of both parents, the time each spends with the child -children, and other important factors such as mortgage interest payments, union dues, medical deductions, child case costs, etc. Based on the number entered into the program, the payment amount is generated.
So to answer the question ‘Why do I have to pay so much child support?’: there may be several factors such as the following:
1) You make more money than the other parent… (and NO, your new spouse’s earnings don’t count towards child support)
2) You don’t spend a lot of time with the kids. On average (this is changing..) the timeshare is typically 20% for the “non-custodial” parent and 80% for the custodial parent.
3) You pay a lot of interest on your home (this actually increases your liability because you are allowed to claim those costs on your tax return so it basically counts as profit for you).
4) Other parents pay for medical expenses.
5) Your children have high child care costs.
So before going to court or talking to your spouse (or ex) about child support, be sure to meet with an attorney who can run numbers through the program and who can then advise you on these five factors.
