How do I calculate child support in California?

Attorney answers (2)

1. Licensed in CA

   

   Edna Straus

   San Juan Capistrano Family Law Attorney

   Contributor Level 16

   Answered November 01, 2010 16:12. if this is a California case the California formula will apply. You must use one of the computer programs to calculate this; the formula is very complicated. It is based on net earning of Mom and Dad, the number of children and the percentage of time the child/ren is/are with each parent.
   
   You can download a demo of "ex-spouse" and attempt this yourself but it's more then tricky.

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2. Licensed in CA

   

   Hong Shen

   Westlake Village Business Attorney

   Contributor Level 13

   Answered November 02, 2010 10:25. The courts use dissomaster to calculate. You may want to check out the department of child support services (DCSS) website, which provides a similar calculator for free. A few years back these two calculators did not produce the same numbers but since last year they fixed the problem. The calculator is very straightforward. You need to input a bunch of information such as your salary, your time, etc., and you can play around with the numbers as well.
   
   The other option is to go to the self-help center of your local court, where you can use the dissomaster on their computers for free.

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