When Does Child Support Start in a CA Divorce?
Child support in California is crucial. It guarantees that children get the money they need from their parents no matter how life changes. This applies to situations like divorce to parents who were never married. Most of the time, people come across two different kinds: temporary and permanent child support.
Temporary vs. Permanent:
You can receive child support once you’ve filed for divorce, and before you finish your divorce. Child support paid before you divorce is called temporary child support. You may need temporary child support because you are unable to financially support your children by yourself while you are divorcing. Most parents do not know about the process like how Child support starts, Book a Strategy call if you are looking for an experienced divorce attorney at an affordable rate.
You can receive temporary child support by filing a request with the family court. The judge will hear your case and decide if child support should be ordered. Unless an exception applies, which I’ll discuss further on, the judge will order guideline child support. Your other option is to reach an agreement with your spouse for temporary child support. Detailed instructions on how to file a request for child support, or to file your temporary child support agreement are in “Obtaining Temporary Orders.”
Some couples choose not to have temporary child support. This is common with couples doing their own divorce and still supporting each other financially as they did when married. If this is your situation, it is still a good idea to have something in writing, signed between you, saying this is your current arrangement in lieu of temporary child support.
When you finish your divorce, temporary child support ends and permanent child support starts. Permanent does not mean forever, only that it is paid after the divorce is final. The permanent child support goes into your final agreement. Just like temporary child support, permanent child support is a guideline and will be the same as the temporary amount unless your income or custodial time changes, you did not have all the income information available, or you and your spouse agree to a different amount.
Whether you are preparing a temporary or permanent child support agreement, include a date for when that child support starts. This might be immediately or the time you stop sharing the joint account or depositing your salaries into that account. But the soonest it can start is when you filed for divorce.
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