Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: family support vs child support

Family support is treated for tax purposes the same as spousal support. Thereby transferring the support from the payor's income to the payee's income. Child support remains upon the payor's income and the payor pays the income taxes. The payee receives the child support tax free.

This option would be desirable if it reduced the total income taxes paid by the parents of the child(ren).

Reply: family support vs child support

In a general sense, child support is not tax deductable to the payor, and not taxable income to the recipient. Spousal support is tax deductable for the payor, and taxable income to the recipient. Family support is taxable income to the recipient and tax deductable to the payor.

Genarally speaking, family support is a tool to optimize the tax consequences of combined spousal and child support. It enables a payor to pay more money per month, yet at the same time pay less money in after tax dollars.

For a specific opinion regarding your individual circumstances, I suggest that you consult with an experienced family law lawyer. Experience is not expensive, it's priceless!

You will find some valuable information on various California family law issues at my web site.

Good luck to you!

Brian Levy, Esq.

www.calattorney.com

Re: family support vs child support

Family support is considered spousal support is used to transfer the burden of the taxes to the payee when the payee is in a lower tax bracket. This results in a tax savings between the two parties. Most child support calculators will suggest a modification of the child support and family support amounts to achieve the maximum tax savings and then will split the tax savings between the parties. Good Luck, Pat McCrary