How is child support calculated?

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Child support in California is determined by state- wide standards that, in general, all Courts must adhere to. The amount is calculated based upon a variety of factors and depends primarily upon each parents income, living expenses, and the amount of physical custody each parent is awarded.

In most cases, the parents exchange income and expense declarations that provide all of the relevant information, and the Court will determine if the information provided is accurate. Once the court determines the true amount of each parent’s income and expenses, it typically will input this information into a computer program called a dissomaster, which will then calculate the appropriate support amount.