Legal Question in Family Law in California

I am getting a divorce from my wife of 14 years. I gross $50,000 and she grosses $35,000. My two girls, ages 13 and 11 will live with me, but my ex will pick them up after school and spend some time with them and then drop them off at my place. I was told i would have to give her alimony and child support, even though i am incurring most of the expense. I only clear $700 a week, so if i have to give her money, i will not be able to afford the rent for a 2 bedroom apartment. How much do you think i will have to give her and for how long?


Asked on 2/25/10, 10:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

I do not know who is telling you you will have to pay her spousal support (California does not use alimony) and child support but with those numbers and depending on the actual percentages of custodial time the girls will spend with each of you, it sounds like there is a good chance she will wind up paying you child support. You should bear in mind, however, that it is not expenses that matter, at least in calculating child support, it's all about income after taxes and a few other adjustments, and custodial time. Sof you have the girls 60% of the time or more, assuming you have equivalent deductions for your incomes, she would owe you child support. This is because your income accounts for about 59% of the total. So if you have them more than 59% of the time, the formula is likely to come up with a payment from her to you. Unless you have significantly more deductions from income (not tax deductions; special deductions in the Family Code) percentage of combined income versus percentage of custodial time gives a decent estimate of where the break-even line is (this is a REALLY rough estimate and many things go into the formula, but just for a ballpark idea, it's roughly accurate).

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Answered on 3/02/10, 10:47 pm


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