Ask Me Help Desk - Going Back on Child Support in California

I actually have a 2 part question:

My oldest daughter turned 18 on Nov. 1, 2008. I have not had the child support modified yet. I had been trying to come to an agreement with my ex without going to court. But that isn't working. Will the judge go back to the date she turned 18? Thus giving me credit for the extra I have paid.

My ex is now saying that he is going to ask the judge to give him more support for the period of July 2007 until Nov. 2008. We have a custody agreement for 50/50 custody, however our oldest daughter lived exclusively with her father during that period. He never asked for a change during that period, but now that we can't come to an agreement he is saying he will ask the judge to modify the amount to reflect full custody to him for that child during that period and to give him extra money. Can you do this in California?

What does the court agreement state? Who had legal custody and who had physical custody of your daughter? How long did you agree to pay support: until she was 18, until she was 21, etc. Is your daughter capable of taking care of herself?

The court agreement does not state an end period. It has a total child support amount for the children and a custody agreement of 50% each. We have joint legal and shared physical custody. I know that in California I do not have to support her after age 18. My question is more about the back support amounts. She turned 18 in Nov. 2008. She chose to live with her father exclusively in July 2007 until she left for college in Sept. 2008. No modification of either the support or the custody order was made when this happened. He is now saying he will ask the judge to give him additional support for the period of July 2007 to Nov. 2008.
So again my questions are: Will the judge order the support I pay effective the date she turned 18, thus I have over paid for 6 months?

Will a judge let him go back and get more support for the time she lived exclusively with him? Even if he didn't file anything when it was happening?

You need to go to court with your attorney and stop arguing with the ex. She will threaten you, so you don't try to get it lower, and you are afraid to try since she is telling you to make it more.

Go to court and get it fixed.

Im a little confused here. When you got the original order did it have a child support amout that you were to pay ? If it did.. was it paid ? If the father never sought to change support then its not likely he is going to get anywhere with the courts since he knew where you were etc. Since we are talking about a child that has already turned 18 and finished High School its likely the case will be thrown out. You can file for support and it can become active from that date forward but you can't file after and expect to go back. The fact that he never modified it is his problem.

The answer to both of your questions is no. This is VERY simple.

You CANNOT modify a child support order in California to any date earlier than the date a motion for modification of support is served (Cal. Fam. Code section 3653 (a)). (n.b. that statute literally says "filed" but federal law (42 USC section 666) limits modification of child support orders to the earliest of the date a motion for modification is served, which trumps the California statute in this very minor respect--as a practical matter, most motions are filed and served the same day).

If your child had finished high school before she turned 18 (which I assume since you mention her attending college before reaching 18) then child support terminated by operation of law on her 18th birthday. Any support paid after that date is reimbursable to the support obligor. If that is you, you are entitled to be paid back everything you paid after she turned 18 (again, assuming she had already graduated from high school at that time).

Your ex cannot get anything for the period that your daughter lived with him exclusively. If he didn't file a motion back when that happened it's too late.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadillac59

The answer to both of your questions is no. This is VERY simple.

You CANNOT modify a child support order in California to any date earlier than the date a motion for modification of support is served (Cal. Fam. Code section 3653 (a)). (n.b., that statute literally says "filed" but federal law (42 USC section 666) limits modification of child support orders to the earliest of the date a motion for modification is served, which trumps the California statute in this very minor respect--as a practical matter, most motions are filed and served the same day).

If your child had finished high school before she turned 18 (which I assume since you mention her attending college before reaching 18) then child support terminated by operation of law on her 18th birthday. Any support paid after that date is reimbursable to the support obligor. If that is you, you are entitled to be paid back everything you paid after she turned 18 (again, assuming she had already graduated from high school at that time).

Your ex cannot get anything for the period that your daughter lived with him exclusively. If he didn't file a motion back when that happened it's too late.

Thank you so much for such a consise answer. You gave me the answer I was looking for!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephsmom

Thank you so much for such a consise answer. You gave me the answer I was looking for!

You're welcome. Glad it was helpful!