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This section tells you about:
- How to get an Order for Child Support
- How to file an Order to Show Cause
- How to raise or lower child support
- How to get your driver's license back (or other professional license)
- How to get an estimate of what amount of child
support the court might order
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to get an Order for Child Support
To get an
order for child support,
you must first file a case with the
Court. If you do not have an existing
case, you need to
file one:
Alternatives:
- If you ARE MARRIED to the other parent, you can file an action for
divorce or legal separation. If you do not want to file for divorce or
legal separation, you can file a Petition for Custody and Support of Minor
Children and Summons.
- If you are NOT MARRIED to the other parent, you must file a
parentage action. This means you are asking the court to say who the other parent
is. You are also allowed to ask for child support, custody and
visitation orders at the same time.
- If you are asking for a
Domestic Violence restraining order and also
need child support, click here.
- You can contact the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) to open a
child support case for you free.
Here are ways you can ask the court for an order:
- How to file an Order to Show Cause (OSC)
This section tells you about:
What is and when to
use an Order to Show Cause (OSC)
When you file your divorce, legal separation or parentage case, you must
also file a
motion called an
Order to Show Cause (OSC). An Order to Show Cause is a court order
for the other
party in your case
to come to Court.
You can file an OSC to:
-
Ask for temporary child orders when you first file your
parentage, divorce, or legal separation case
-
Ask for child orders in an existing case
-
Ask for a change to your current orders, or
-
Ask to cancel ("set aside") a
default judgment (a
judgment that was made when you didn't respond to legal papers or appear
in court) in a Department of Child Support Services child support case. If
the court cancels the judgment, they will tell you what you owe for
current and past child support (arrears).
Forms you will need:
If you are the person
filing
the Order To Show Cause (called the "moving party"), you must fill out these forms.
You will also need the following forms for serving
these documents on your spouse:
- Proof of Personal Service (Form FL-330)
- A blank Responsive Declaration To Order To Show Cause Or Notice
Of Motion (Form
FL-320)
- A blank Simplified Financial Statement (Form FL-155)
or
- A blank Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150)
There are 3 ways to fill out your own forms:
- Print the form on a printer, then print neatly in blue or black
ink; or
- Fill out the form online using the links above, and print the
filled-out form; or
- Fill out your form online using the
form generator (answering questions to complete the form) and then
print it.
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How to Fill Out, File and Serve the OSC Forms:
Step 1: Fill out the forms:
If you have an existing case, no matter how old, use the same case
title. After you fill out your forms, make 3 copies (for you, the other
party, and one extra).
Step 2: File the forms:
Take your completed forms to your local court’s Calendar office and ask
for a hearing date. Then file your papers at the Clerk's office.
If the
Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) is already collecting
child support in your case, you will file papers, and your hearings will
be at:
Notre Dame Courthouse
If the Department of Child Support Services is not collecting child
support in your case, you will file papers, and your hearings will be
at:
Family Court
Step 3: Serve the documents:
You must
serve the other parent with endorsed/filed copies of the court
forms at least 21 days before your hearing (or sooner if the Judge says
so). Someone over 18 — not you — must personally serve the other parent.
And, if the Department of Child Support Services is collecting child
support, someone over 18 — not you — must personally serve it.
These are the forms you must serve:
- Your Order To Show Cause
- Your Application for Order and Supporting Declaration
- Your Simplified Financial Statement or Income and Expense
Declaration
- A blank Responsive Declaration
- A blank Simplified Financial Statement or Income and Expense
Declaration
Remember: You cannot serve the papers yourself.
Your papers must be served by an adult (over 18) who is not involved in
your case. OR, hire a professional
process server to serve your papers. (See your phone book.)
The person who serves the papers must complete a Proof of Personal Service
(form FL-330). The proof of service says he or she delivered the papers to
the other party.
If you need to serve papers to someone in jail or prison in California, read
this flyer:
How to
Serve Someone in Custody. top of page
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Step 4: File the Proof of Service:
File the original proof of service at the Court Clerk’s office as soon as
possible.
 This
should be done before your hearing. Bring a filed copy of the proof of
service to your hearing. If you can't file the proof of service before the
hearing, bring the original to your hearing.
Step 5: Go to your hearing:
Come to Court early. Look for your name on the court calendar. The
calendar is on the wall outside the courtroom door. Make sure your case is
listed on the calendar. If it is not listed, and your papers say this is
the right date and time, show your papers to the deputy inside the
courtroom or go to the Calendar Clerk in the Clerk’s Office.
Remember: Bring copies of all the papers in your case
(especially the ones you filed to get this Court hearing), your copy of
the filed proof of service, and any other papers that support your case,
like pay stubs for the last 3 months, tax returns for the previous year,
child care receipts, and anything else that supports the information in
your Simplified Financial Statement or Income and Expense Declaration. If
you are self-employed, bring papers that show how much money your business
is making.
If you have any witnesses,
make sure they come, too.
Step 6: After the hearing:
After the hearing, any orders the Judge makes must be written down on
court forms. You can ask the Judge for a referral to the Family
Law Facilitator for help with the forms.
Click for important information in the
Child Support Case Registry Form instruction sheet and to download the
form itself, form FL-191.
Other things you should know...
Amount of Child Support:
The Judge will follow the child support laws (“guideline”) to decide how
much child support should be ordered.
Health Care:
When you ask for child support, the Judge can make orders about who pays
your child(ren)’s health insurance (this includes vision and dental) and
how the parents share the health care costs not paid for by insurance.
Child Care:
When you ask for child support, you can also ask the other parent to share
your child(ren)’s child care costs.
Child Support Payments
Child Support is usually paid from a parent’s paycheck (withholding). To
do this, visit a lawyer or the Family Law Facilitator. Employers cannot
fire employees because child support comes out of their paycheck.
Help:
If you need extra help, talk to a lawyer or to the Family
Law Facilitator.
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-
How to raise or lower child support
If you want to ask the Judge to change the child support (higher or
lower), you have to file the correct court forms in your court case. It
does not matter how old your case is. The law says you must show that
circumstances have changed since the last order.
To change the amount of support, you can:
- Contact the Family Law Facilitator/Family Court Clinic
in San Jose for help
- Talk to a lawyer - see information on local Bar
Association attorney referrals and other legal help on the
Family Resources page
- Ask the
Department of Child Support Services to help you
- Do it yourself. You can buy a self-help book or legal
forms and instructions that explain how to file an Order to Show Cause
to change child support. You can get these forms on the
Judicial Council's web site.
- Contact the Family Law Facilitator.
If you and the other parent have an
agreement, or think you can make an
agreement on the amount of child support, they can help you write up
your agreement. (They cannot help you write up an agreement if the
Department of Child Support Services is collecting child support in your
case.)
- How to reinstate (get back) your driver's license (or other
professional license)
 If you do not pay court-ordered child support, your license can be
suspended. To get your license back, contact the Department of Child
Support Services. If that doesn’t work, ask the Judge to order the
Department of Child Support Services to give you your license back. To do
this, file a Notice of Motion for Judicial Review of License Denial (Form
FL-670). Filing this form does NOT change how much child support you
must pay. To change your support order, file an
Order to Show Cause.
Here’s how you file your Notice of Motion for Judicial Review of
License Denial.
- Fill out the Notice of Motion for Judicial Review of License
Denial form (Form
FL-670). Use the same case number and case title. You and the other
parent will always be called
Petitioner
or
Respondent
as you were in the first papers filed.
- Make 2 copies of your form (1 for you, the other for the
Department of Child Support Services). The original is for the Court file.
- Go to the Calendar window at the Clerk’s office and ask for a
date for your hearing. At the hearing, you will tell the Judge why
you should get your license back.
- Take your forms to the Clerk’s office at the Superior Court,
Notre Dame Courthouse and file them. You will have to pay to file
the forms. The clerk will tell you how much or you can look at the
court’s fee schedule
- look for "hearing fees (first response)" on the schedule.
If you don’t have enough money to pay the
filing fee,
ask the clerk for an Application for a fee
waiver packet. Fill out the forms, attach a pay
stub, and turn your forms to the Document Examiner. The judge will
decide by the next business day, if you can get a fee waiver. Come back
then to pick up your papers to see if you have to pay the fee.
- Serve the papers - Serve the papers on the
Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) by dropping off a copy to the Family
Law Facilitator.
- Get ready for your hearing - On the date of your hearing, you
will probably have to wait a long time. Sometimes, it takes more than
half a day. DO NOT bring children.
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- How to get an estimate of what amount of
child support the court might order
Visit the
California Guideline Child Support Payment Calculator. This is a
free, online calculator program provided by the California Department of
Child Support Services.
-
 Frequently Asked Questions
Is my spouse's income going to be counted for child support?
The Court usually uses the parents' incomes only to calculate child
support. But, the Court can ask about your spouse's income for tax or
other purposes.
How do I stop my employer from taking child support out of my paycheck
when my child turns 18?
You must file an Order To Show Cause to ask the Court to stop taking
money out of your pay. If the Court approves, the Judge will sign a new
wage withholding order for $0. You can take this to your employer.
Do I still have to pay child support if I have 50/50 custody?
If you make more money than the other parent, you may still have to
pay some child support.
Will the Court consider that I have other children to support?
The Court can give you credit for other child support orders and for
other children in your home that you support. The Court usually does not
give credit for stepchildren, or grandchildren.
Will I pay less child support if I have the child(ren) more often?
The amount of time that the children are with you is a factor in
calculating child support.
How long do I have to pay child support?
You will pay until the child is 18 years old, if he or she graduates
from high school. If your 18-year-old child is still a full time high
school student and still lives with a parent, you must pay child support
until your child graduates or turns 19.
Do I have to pay the interest on past due child support?
Usually, the Court cannot reduce or cancel interest on past due
child support. Talk to a lawyer.
How do I stop them from taking half my paycheck?
If your employer is deducting 50% or more of your check, you may
have an arrears (past due child support) balance. First, contact the
Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) to see if you can make other
arrangements. If that does not work, you can file court forms to ask a
judge to set a payment that you can afford.
What if the other party does not pay the child support?
Talk to a lawyer or visit the Family
Law Facilitator.
Where can I get more information?
Read the California Dept. of Child Support Services online booklet,
Child Support Handbook.
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