San Jose Divorce and Family Law Attorney
Get Straight Answers About Child Support
Attorney Victor Castro has more than 27 years of experience representing clients involved in all types of issues relating to child support. According to California law, the father and mother of a minor child have an equal responsibility to support their child in a manner appropriate to the child's circumstances.
Support imposed by the court continues until the child does one of the following:
- Marries
- Becomes financially self-supporting
- Completes the 12th grade
- Attains the age of 19 years, unless a full-time college student
- Attains the age of 23 years, whether a student or not
Did you know?
Child support is calculated by a formula adopted by the legislature. The calculation is deemed a guideline calculation and must be ordered by the court — except in certain limited circumstances. Visitation rights cannot be tied to child support obligations.
Our firm is recognized for our knowledge, skill and commitment to helping our clients find the resolution to the most complex child support issues. It is essential to have a thorough knowledge of the facts of the case and the applicable laws to achieve the best results. We thoroughly prepare your case, taking care to provide accurate, timely legal counsel that you need. We always pursue reasonable agreements that best benefit the children. Contact the Law Office of Victor M. Castro before facing these huge decisions on your own.
Spousal support
Under California family law, spousal support is typically granted only after a court considers detailed circumstances. It is important to have knowledgeable, experienced representation during alimony negotiations. There are many factors that affect the outcome.
In ordering spousal support, the court considers all of the following circumstances:
- The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, taking into account the following factors —
- Marketable skills of the supported party and the job market for those skills
- Time and expenses required for the supported party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop those skills
- Possible need for retraining or education to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment
- The extent to which the supported party's present or future earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment incurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote time to domestic duties
- The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of education, training, a career position or a license by the supporting party
- The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support, taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living
- The need of each party, based on the standard of living established during the marriage
- The obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party
- The duration of the marriage
- The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party
- The age and health of the parties
- Documented evidence of a history of domestic violence
- The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party
- The balance of the hardships to each party
- The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time
In addition, a criminal conviction of an abusive spouse may also be considered by the courts, when deciding to reduce or eliminate spousal maintenance.
Discover what we mean when we say you deserve a knowledgeable, compassionate and dedicated California divorce lawyer. Contact us for a free initial telephone consultation about your child support or spousal support concerns.
