How do I know how much child support I’ll be receiving? Are there any guidelines to follow?

The California legislature enacted a statewide uniform child support guideline that adheres to the standard that a parent’s first and principal obligation is to support his or her minor children according to the parent’s circumstances and station in life. Therefore, child support obligations are not dischargeable in bankruptcy nor can a parent waive their child’s right to receive child support.

The support is determined by a software program that computes the guideline amount of child support from a variety of factors. For example, the software will take into account the pre-tax incomes of both parents and the amount of time the child spends with each parent when setting the required amount of child support.