California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation When the paying parent owns real property and that property is sold, the sale represents a significant collection opportunity for unpaid child support arrears — but only if you’ve taken the steps necessary to attach your claim to the proceeds before the closing. Understanding how to position…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation Your DCSS caseworker is simultaneously your most valuable ally and your most significant source of frustration in the child support enforcement process. Understanding how the system works, what caseworkers can and cannot do, and how to communicate effectively with yours is the difference between a case that…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation Child support hearings are normally scheduled 30 to 60 days after filing. When circumstances require faster action — an obligor who has discovered assets that may disappear, a sudden loss of income creating immediate financial hardship, or an emergency situation affecting the children — California courts have…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation When the paying parent retires — or claims to retire — child support obligations don’t automatically end or reduce. Retirement represents a change in income, not a change in the legal obligation to support the child. Understanding how California courts treat retirement income and how to enforce…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation When the paying parent owns a business — sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, or partnership — that business is both an income source for support calculation and a potential asset for enforcement of arrears. Penetrating the business structure to reach income and assets requires specific legal strategies that…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation Unmarried parents have the same rights to child support as married parents — but establishing those rights requires first establishing legal parentage. Without a legal determination of paternity, child support cannot be ordered, and neither the child nor the custodial parent has access to any of the…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation Child support arrears reported to the major credit bureaus can significantly motivate payment from obligors who otherwise show little response to enforcement actions — particularly those who care about their credit score for mortgage qualification, car loans, or business financing. Understanding how credit reporting works in child…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation Voluntary unemployment or underemployment to reduce child support is one of the most common and most transparent evasion tactics in child support cases. California courts have a clear legal doctrine to address it: imputed income. When a parent voluntarily reduces their income to avoid support, the court…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation Annual bonuses, commissions, stock option exercises, and other variable compensation are income for child support purposes in California — and they are often the most significant income events in a paying parent’s year. Ensuring that this variable income is properly accounted for in the support calculation and…

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California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation Most child support hearings in California are conducted by self-represented parties. Courts expect it, procedures accommodate it, and the formal evidentiary standards of a complex civil trial generally don’t apply. Understanding how to prepare for and conduct yourself at a child support hearing is fully achievable without…

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