Remarriage

I Remarried.  Will my new spouse’s income change my child support?

The California Family Code prohibits the court from considering a new spouse’s income when determining or modifying child support, except in an “extraordinary case” where excluding the new spouse’s income will lead to “extreme and severe hardship” to the children subject to the child support award.

Extraordinary Case

An “extraordinary case” is not defined, but Family Code Section 4075.5 states that an extraordinary case can include situations where a spouse is suppressing their income in light of their new spouse’s income.  For example, an extraordinary case may involve the spouse internationally remaining unemployed or underemployed in reliance on their new spouse’s income. Likewise, an extraordinary case may involve a parent who voluntarily quits work or reduces their hours due to their new spouse’s income.

Even in such an “extraordinary case” the court will not look to the new spouse’s income in calculating child support unless exclusion of the new spouse’s income will lead to an “extreme and severe hardship” upon the children benefiting from the child support award.  Even if the exclusion of the new spouse’s income does lead to extreme and severe hardship for the supported children, the court must also consider whether the inclusion of the new spouse’s income in calculating child support will lead to an extreme and severe hardship for the new spouse’s children.

Actual Tax Liability

Finally, the court’s can consider the new spouse’s income for the limited purpose of determining the parent’s actual tax liability in calculating disposable income for child support.  In effect, the new spouse’s income on the joint tax return may alter the tax liability of the parent and thus have an effect on the parent’s disposable income and by extension the calculated child support award.  For example, if the new spouse earns enough to push the couple into a higher income tax bracket, the parent’s higher tax liability may result in less disposable income.