California law provides that both parents have a general obligation to support minor children, both natural and adopted, whether or not the parents were married. Child support can be requested by one party from the other through an action in dissolution, legal separation, nullity, paternity or a domestic violence action.

In general terms, the child support is based upon the income of both parties, who has custody and how much time the non-custodial parent has with the child or children.

Once the information is collected, a computer program, used by both attorneys and judges, calculates support.

Child support is always modifiable and may be changed when either party’s circumstances change or there is a change in the custody or visitation schedule. A consultation with an attorney utilizing the computer program will give you an idea of the possible increase or decrease in the amount of support. The first step would be to file a motion with the court asking for the change. It is the party’s burden seeking the modification to demonstrate a change in circumstances in order to justify it.