Child Custody and Support in California

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When going through a divorce, property division and spousal support are largely business decisions--meaning weighing the cost to litigate an issue against the cost of settling. When it comes to child custody, that is not the case. Children are not bargaining tools or fungible assets. For that reason, it is important to consult an attorney when facing custody or child support disputes. Under California law, both the mother and father of the child are equally entitled to the custody of the child. When custody decisions are being made, keep in mind that there are two types: legal custody and physical custody.

Legal Custody

A parent who has legal custody over a child has the right to make important life decisions for the child, including those related to health care, education, and general welfare. These could be decisions such as what religious activities the child will participate in and what school they to go to. Legal custody can be granted as sole or joint custody, regardless of any physical custody orders. For example, parents can have joint legal custody and one parent can have sole physical custody. Legal custody and physical custody are completely separate and distinct forms of custody.

Physical Custody

Physical custody determines which parent the child lives with and will have the day-to-day responsibility of caring for them. Just as with legal custody, physical custody can be sole or joint. Even when a parent has sole physical custody, the other parent may still be granted visitation rights by the court or by agreement of the parties. Joint physical custody means both parents share significant periods of time with the child, although not necessarily evenly split. Joint physical custody could mean one parent has the child 30-40% of the time.

Where parents have joint physical custody, a parenting schedule is usually developed to ensure the child spends time with each parent. The schedule can be created by the court or by agreement of the parties. There are apps specifically developed for joint physical custody, such as OurFamilyWizard, that assist parents with implementing parenting schedules.

Process

Depending on your circumstances, the process for custody could be a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, or a Petition to Determine Parental Relationship. Either way, this is what begins the court custody process. Where a divorce case is proceeding, the family court usually holds a hearing shortly after the initial papers are filed. If custody is contested at that point, the court will issue an order deciding temporary custody during the divorce.

The court will usually order the parties to engage in mediation to see if the parents can reach an agreement outside of court. Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which divorcing couples work with a specially trained neutral third party to resolve some or all of their disagreements. Couples who resolve their custody disputes through mediation can include a provision in their final divorce decree making mediation mandatory to resolve future custody and visitation disputes.

If an agreement cannot be reached, the court will determine custody based on the best interest of the child. Among the factors courts consider in determining the best interest of the child are any history of physical abuse, the child's wishes, the child's siblings, and the child's overall health, safety, and welfare. Critical to the custody proceedings are custody evaluations, performed by an outside expert, as the opinion of the expert is usually afforded great weight with the court.

Modifications

Modifications to custody and visitation orders are possible. However, the parent seeking the modification must show there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances. Some courts will only consider a request for modification within a certain number of years after the original custody determination, but courts will almost always consider modifying a custody or visitation order when the child is endangered by the current arrangement. The safety of the child, as well as the best interest of the child, are the court's priority.

Child Support

Child support is a monthly obligation that a parent pays to another parent to help cover the costs of raising a child. A uniform state guideline has been established in order to create a fair and efficient method of calculating child support. This guideline takes into account California’s high cost of living and is presumed to be the correct amount of child support in all cases. This does not mean a court is impotent to deviate from the guidelines. With the proper findings, courts will deviate from the guideline child support to ensure an unjust result does not occur.

For years, courts and family law practitioners have relied on software called DissoMaster to calculate guideline child support. In 2025, the software was discontinued by Thomson Reuters. In place of this de facto statewide standard, many practitioners are now using Xspouse, although there are a handful of options certified by the Judicial Counsel for use in California's courts. Which option becomes the gold standard moving forward is currently unknown.

The existence of a uniform state guideline for child support does not eliminate disputes. What goes into the guideline calculator (income and expense) is often heavily disputed and can lead to drastically different outcomes. If you are facing a child support determination, or seeking to modify an existing child support order, you need to speak with an attorney to go over the current financial status of the parties. The level of necessary child support is fact-specific and unique to each situation.

Child support legally ends when the child turns 18 and graduates from high school, or when the child turns 19, whichever is earlier. Additionally, if the child marries, joins the military, is legally emancipated, or dies (hopefully this is never the case), child support will end. Where a parent unknowingly continues paying child support after they are no longer obligated to do so, they are entitled to reimbursement.

Child Support Modification

If there are material and substantial changes in circumstances, the child support order can be modified. This often occurs where there has been a change in the income of the parties, the visitation schedule has changed, the child's educational expenses have changed, or health insurance costs have changed. These are not the only factors that can demonstrate a material and substantial change in circumstances--they are just a few of the most common.

One exception exists when the original child support order was below the guideline recommendation. Due to guideline child support being presumptively correct, any change to the factors which supported the below-guideline child support order are potentially substantial. However, no child support modification can be retroactive to before the filing of the motion to change it. For this reason, do not hesitate to contact an attorney to discuss filing a motion to modify a child support order. It could be costing you more in the long run.

Assistance

Contact me today if you have child custody or child support problems. My goal is to provide knowledgeable, caring, and effective legal representation to individuals throughout Calaveras, Amador, and Tuolumne counties.