Child Support Lawyers in Long Beach, CA

Protecting Your Children During Your Divorce

For over 10 years, our firm has provided effective mediation services to clients facing a variety of divorce-related issues. When you work with our attorney-mediators, we can help you resolve your child support matter in a peaceful and respectful way. Our methods are non-intrusive and designed to keep the court’s involvement to a bare minimum.

Calculating Child Support in California

In California, all parents have the duty to financially support their children. To ensure that a child’s needs are met, a court may order one or both parents to pay child support. Child support refers to a monthly payment some parents make to help cover the cost of raising a child.

During a divorce, either parent may request child support from the other parent. Often, the least stressful and most cost-effective way to obtain child support is during mediation. When parents can agree on the terms of child support, the court’s role is simply to approve their agreement.

If parents cannot agree on the amount of child support to be paid, the requesting parent can file a petition with the court for a child support order. Except in rare circumstances, a judge will usually base his or her decision on the California child support guidelines.

The factors considered when determining child support include:

• The income of each parent
• The expenses to care for the child
• The number of children involved
• The amount of time the child spends with each parent
• The existing child custody plan
• The cost for education and daycare
• The support provided to children from previous relationships

Compassionate Legal Representation