How Is Child Support Enforced in California?

Being awarded child support is an important accomplishment, but a court order alone is no guarantee that the other parent will pay. Parents often struggle to receive the support guaranteed by the court and wonder how they can enforce the order against the parent who should be paying.

Fortunately, the State of California provides numerous ways to do so. Some common ways include placing liens on property and bank accounts, intercepting tax refunds and lottery winnings, and suspending professional, occupational, drivers, and other licenses. The bottom line is that you have enforcement options, and the Pinkham & Associates, APLC team is ready to help you take advantage of them.

How Do Courts Decide How Much Child Support a Person Pays?

Courts use several different criteria to determine how much child support an individual must pay per month.  Among many other things, these are some of the factors, some of the major factors include:

• Both parents’ income: Gross income is the primary factor that impacts the amount of a child support order. Income includes your salary, disability payments, Social Security, workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance, or any other income.  In fact, California Family Code says that income is “income from any source whatsoever.”  
• Earning capacity: Some parents deliberately earn less money than they can to evade their child support duties.  The court can examine both parents’ earning capacities, taking into consideration their employment and earning ability, earning history, education, and current job opportunities, when awarding child support.
• The number of children the parents have together: The more children that parents have together, the higher the monthly child support obligation will be.
• The child’s needs: The best interests of the child are of primary concern to the child support court. The judge will therefore be concerned with ensuring that the needs of each child will be met and will order a corresponding amount of guideline support.
• Child custody: The amount of time a child spends with a particular parent directly corresponds to how much money it costs to care for the child. Even if custody is evenly split, the parent who earns more money can be required to pay support to the other parent.

Calculate Your Child Support

To get an idea of approximately how much child support a court might order in your particular case, it helps to use a child support calculator. These numbers are estimates, however, so you should always consult with an attorney to confirm the calculation. The calculator takes the following factors into account:

• The parents’ total combined income after taxes;
• The percentage of parenting time that the parent who earns more money will spend with the child;
• The after-tax income of the other parent; and
• How many children the parents have together (this excludes children that either parent has from other relationships).

California Child Support Laws Were Updated in 2024

On September 1, 2024, several new child support laws went into effect in California. The objective of these laws is to both ensure the needs of children are met and to create a more equitable child support system. The changes include:

• More flexibility in adjusting to lower incomes: This law creates another category of income earners, “low-middle,” for those of modest means who do not qualify for public assistance but need an adjustment to the amount of support they owe. The low-income adjustment may be based on what a parent would earn working a 40-hour week at the state’s minimum wage rate.
• Certain expenses to be shared proportionally: Specific costs like the child’s health insurance coverage and extracurricular expenses were previously split 50/50 between parents. Now the costs will be apportioned to both parents based on their respective incomes.
• Redefining income: Additional sources of income, including severance pay, certain veterans’ benefits, and others are now specifically included in the definition of “income.” The purpose of this update is to accurately reflect a parent’s ability to pay child support.
• Additional earning capacity considerations: The concept of earning capacity allows a court to impute income to a parent who is unemployed or underemployed. However, now, the court must consider the circumstances of a parent who falls into either category.
• Fairer child support calculations: The guidelines and the child support calculations that flow from them were updated to reflect such matters as cost of living differences within the state and age-specific needs for multiple children. The updates are intended to create a more equitable child support system.
• Additional enforcement tools: New methods of enforcing child support orders, such as Electronic Income Withholding Orders (E-IWOs) and expanded powers of the California Department of Child Support Services, were enacted. So, too, were more severe consequences for non-compliance.
• Modification available at any time: Your circumstances may have changed since the previous child support order went into effect. A parent can now request a modification to the current existing order at any time.

Income Withholding Order

When judges order child support, they automatically issue at the same time, what is known as an income withholding order. This order requires the paying parent’s employer to withhold child support payments from the payor-parent’s paycheck and send it to the state, which, in turn, disburses it to the receiving parent. This measure helps avoid many child support enforcement issues, so ask an attorney for more information on obtaining an income withholding order in your case.

Penalties Imposed by the California Government

If a parent fails to pay child support, they could face:

• A lien imposed on their bank accounts and property
• Interception of lottery winnings and tax refunds
• Suspension of their driver’s license and passport
• Revocation of an occupational or professional license
• Interest levied on the amount of unpaid support
• Civil and criminal contempt proceedings

Talk to the lawyers at Pinkham & Associates for help with any child support orders.

Is There a Statute of Limitations on Unpaid Child Support?

A statute of limitations imposes a deadline for taking legal action in certain civil matters. No such deadline exists for unpaid child support. This means that a parent can take action whenever they want to compel the other parent to pay child support that is owed to them.

Moreover, judges can continue to enforce their child support orders until the payment obligations are fully met, no matter how long that takes.

Does the State Pay Child Support if My Ex-Partner Doesn’t?

The state does not pay child support per se, but it does redirect tax refunds from the parent who should be paying support to the one who should receive it. This is known as tax refund interception, and it applies to both state and federal refunds. An attorney can help you enroll in a tax intercept program to help you receive the support that the court has ordered.

Does the State Issue a Warrant for Unpaid Child Support?

No, states do not issue warrants for unpaid child support, at least not initially. A parent would have to commit and be convicted of contempt to face jail time. If the parent misses several payments, the amount of back child support becomes significant, and the non-paying parent fails to fix the problem, then the state may file a contempt action against the non-paying parent.

However, the other parent should take action to enforce child support long before this point is reached.

Our Divorce Lawyers Can Help You with Your Child Support Case

If the law entitles you to child support, our mission is to take the steps necessary to help ensure you receive it. If the other parent has neglected their duty to pay, then it is time to take legal action to enforce the order, resume the payments, and start collecting any back child support you are owed.

Pinkham & Associates, APLC is ready to assist. We have the experience it takes to help parents avail themselves of all available enforcement options. You may even be able to modify your prior order to make future non-payment less likely. Reach out to us today to get started.