"Child support" is the amount of money a parent is required by California law to pay to the spouse who retains primary custody of the child. Child support is intended for the benefit of the child, and usually pays for:

• Food, shelter, and clothing.
• Health and medical care
• Educational expenditures

All fathers and mothers can be required to pay child support in Ione, California, regardless of whether they are married or not. If there is a dispute regarding the identity of the child's father, a paternity test can be ordered. Stepparents are not obligated by law to pay child support unless the stepparent legally adopts the children, thus becoming the child’s parent.

California Courts generally require each parent to complete a financial statement before making a decision on child support. In the financial statement, the parent must detail his or her monthly income and expenses. Based on the financial information and the amount of time each parent spends with the child, the Court uses a standard formula to determine the child support amount.

There are several additional factors in determining child support, including:

• California Courts generally look at each parents' gross income, minus any mandatory deductions like taxes, social security, healthcare, mandatory union dues, and other child support payments for which they may already be responsible.
• California Courts take into consideration a spouse's ability to earn versus actual earnings. Thus, if you have an income of $30,000 but have the earning potential to make $100,000, a court may hold you responsible for the higher amount.
• The courts deeming relevant the standard of living of the child before divorce or separation.

If you are not receiving child support payments that are owed to you, the district attorney in Ione, California, can help by serving the delinquent parent with papers requiring him or her to pay. If the non-paying parent still does not contribute their child support, the district attorney can take any of the following actions against the delinquent parent:

• Seize tax refunds
• Garnish wages
• Put liens on property
• Revoke driver's licenses
• Revoke passports

Again, when the best interest of the child warrants a change, child support payments may be modified. Usually, modification requires a showing of a "change in circumstances." A change in circumstance may include:

• Job change of either party that increases or decreases income levels
• Child custody or visitation changes
• Temporary economic or medical hardship of the paying spouse (unemployment, illness, etc.)
• A child's medical emergency
• Needs of the child change (school, daycare, etc.)