Marriage in the U.S. is not easy. Statistics prove that more than 50 percent of all marriages will end up in divorce. While most of these splits will involve a child or children, not all divorces will end acrimoniously.
In fact, it’s not uncommon for both divorcing spouses to work closely together not only for the children’s emotional best interests but also for their financial health. That’s where child support comes in.
Says a family law attorney from the California-based Castro Law Offices (https://castrolawoffices.com/), it’s of paramount importance that divorcing parents have an opportunity to seize on an amicable agreement when it comes to the sensitive issue of child support. Once an agreement has been reached by both parties, a judge must review and approve it, but this is often just a formality.
However, parents need to make sure their child support agreement states that neither party was forced into entering the agreement and that they both believe the agreement is in the best interest of the child or children.
That said, how exactly does a divorcing couple go about establishing a child support agreement in California in 2022? Here are the specifics as spelled out in a recent law report.
First Step: Open a Case
Either divorcing parent is eligible to open a child support case. Also, a child’s legal guardian can open a case if need be. Believe it or not, possessing an order from a court for back child support does not automatically mean a legal child support case is now open.
In order to open your child support case in California, all you need to do is fill out an online application. If you don’t have access to the internet then you can pay a visit to a local child support agency.
Once the application is completed and submitted, the applicant can expect to be contacted by their local office which will assist you with obtaining the required child support via court order.
The benefits to opening a child support case with the legal experts include:
- Guiding divorcing parents through every step of the legal process.
- You might be able to skip court entirely.
- Once an order is established, the experts keep records that can protect both recipient and payer.
- Recipients who aren’t being paid can be assisted.
- Payers who are having trouble coming up with the weekly money can avoid legal action.
Second Step: Locating the Parents
Prior to a child support order being established, both divorcing parents must be located. In many divorce cases, there’s no guarantee one or both of the parents will be located.
But if one or both of the parents' date of birth and/or Social Security Number is known, determining their location will be that much easier.
Third Step: File a Legal Summons and Complaint
Once the case is legally opened, the parent who’s been tasked with paying the child support will be handed an official Summons and Complaint package. This will serve as a legal notification that you have been named by the state in a child support court case.
You will only have up to 30 days to make a response. If you don’t respond, a “default” on a child support order will be ordered by the court and therefore your financial circumstances will be examined.
Fourth Step: Determine Legal Parentage
If upon receipt of a Summons and Complain packet, you do not believe you’re are legally responsible for the child or children you are being ordered to pay weekly child support for, you reserve the legal right to request a documented proof.
Under California law, child support experts can assist you in this regard entirely for free. In fact, you might feel that you are not even the biological parent of the child or children.
Determining legal parentage can come in the form of DNA testing which is said to produce 99 percent accurate results. Or proof can be determined if the divorcing parents were legally married at the time of the child or children’s births.
If you fail to request proof of legal parentage, you will likely still be assigned as the “legal parent” by the courts entirely without your consent. Therefore, you will be legally liable for paying child support.
Fifth Step: Agree to a “Stipulated Agreement”
If both divorcing parents wish to avoid court altogether, local California agencies can provide “Family Meetings” which will allow both parents to consult face-to-face with a child support caseworker. This can be done separately or together.
If it so happens both divorcing parents amicably agree on a child support amount, their executed documents will serve as a “Stipulated Agreement.” This will then be filed with the court.
A Stipulated Agreement, it should be pointed out, saves on legal fees big time.
