Jessica has worked with hundreds of families to prepare them for custody evaluations as ordered by the Court. She is a therapist, credentialed teacher and qualified child custody evaluator. Clair, MS, MFT, is a Marriage, Family and Child Counselor with over thirty years experience working with families and children. Reproduced with Permission from 'In the Child's Best Interest', a newsletter promoting the child's best interests in Divorce and Custody matters. Prepared with the assistance of Commissioner Richard Vogl. Because in many families both parents work, spousal support may be for a limited period of time or nonexistent especially if the marriage was shorter than 10 years. Spousal support on the other hand is more discretionary with the dollar amount based on 'her' need and 'his' ability to pay. Is DissomasterÂ® fair? It may be better than 'arbitrary', but who knows? In other families, children find themselves moving back and forth every few days when shared by their parents in a variety of creative ways. Some parents quit jobs declare bankruptcy or find themselves living in rented rooms in order to support their children. One result of DissomasterÂ® appears to be Dad's wanting more time with their children - money or love? The basic figures include: Dad's and Mom's Income plus child care costs other expenses may also be considered (but not travel expenses).Īnother important element in the formula is the amount of time each parent spends with the child(ren) For example, the more time Dad spends with the child(ren), the less he pays. Now, the amount of child support, as defined by law, is based on the dollar amount entered into the DissomasterÂ® program. In a effort to standardize payments a formula was developed, and with the aid of the computer DissomasterÂ® was born. With out many official or legal guidelines to follow, two families with similar incomes could end up paying considerably different child support payments. Prior to the late 1980's however, child support was largely at the discretion of the court, i.e., the judge would look at the income of both parents and make a somewhat arbitrary decision on who should pay and how much. The law states that children must be supported and therefore, child support is mandatory. In the Family Law Court, however, when it comes to determining the dollar amount for child Support, a computer program called DissomasterÂ® rules! Financially drained, emotionally distraut, and often physically uprooted, the next most often heard remark may be, 'it's not fair'. It is here that parents (mainly fathers) discover yet another 'expense' involved in the dissolution of their relationship. 'I have to pay to pay what?' may be the question most often asked on the 5th or 6th floor of the Family Law Court.

We use the California support guidelines as calculated by the Family Courts to determine your approximate child support payments.

Dissomaster program california