When you are facing child support issues in Los Angeles, you need an attorney who knows the Stanley Mosk Courthouse like the back of their hand and understands how LA’s high cost of living affects your family’s support calculations. At Moradi Neufer, we’ve spent decades protecting LA parents’ rights, whether you’re seeking support in Encino, enforcing orders in Downtown LA, or modifying payments after a job change in the San Fernando Valley.
If you’re searching for a child support attorney near Los Angeles, you’re probably in one of those situations no parent ever wants to face. Maybe your ex just served you with papers, or you’re finding it hard to make ends meet while your child’s other parent isn’t paying what they owe, or you’ve lost your job and are figuring out how you will meet your child support obligations when you’re already paying most of your income on rent in Los Angeles. We are an experienced family law attorney in Los Angeles and have been practising for over 40 years; therefore, we know for a fact that child support cases in Los Angeles County differ from all other places within California.
The cost of living in LA, whether you’re in Westlake or Woodland Hills, makes these cases more complex and more consequential. When your rent is $3,000 per month and your childcare is $1,800, the difference between a few hundred dollars in child support and not receiving it is the difference between stability and instability.
At Moradi Neufer, the Best Los Angeles Child Support Attorney, we understand what LA families are going through. We have helped thousands of parents navigate through the child support process at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Van Nuys Courthouse East, and dozens of other courthouses within Los Angeles County, so we are familiar with the judges, have knowledge of local rules, and, best of all, we are able to provide results for your family that work for you.
Many parents are unaware of the following: California uses a statewide formula to determine child support, but the way it is applied within Los Angeles County will vary depending on local factors. These calculations often raise questions about what child support covers in California and how specific expenses are accounted for. The dependency calculation uses both parents’ total income, the amount of time each parent spends with the child, who has health insurance, who pays child care expenses, and a variety of other factors – however, because Los Angeles County has a large population, the data used to determine child support will vary greatly between Fresno or Sacramento.
The September 2024 changes to California’s child support laws have made things even more nuanced. The new guidelines adjusted the income thresholds and K-factor multipliers for the first time since 1992.
For LA parents, this means the calculations now better reflect our actual cost of living. The low-income adjustment threshold is now tied to California’s minimum wage currently $16.50 per hour which works out to about $2,860 per month in net disposable income.
If you’re earning around that amount in Los Angeles, you know that’s barely enough to cover basic expenses, let alone raise a child.
A lot of family law firms will take your retainer, file some paperwork, and then disappear until the court date. That’s not how the best child support law firm, like Moradi Neufer works. When you hire a child support attorney from Moradi Neufer, you’re getting a dedicated advocate who treats your case like it matters, because it does.
Here’s what we actually do:
We analyze your complete financial picture
This isn’t just about paystubs. We look at bonuses, overtime, rental income, stock options, and anything else that factors into the guideline calculation.
For high earners in entertainment or tech, this can get complicated fast. We’ve handled cases involving stock options at companies in Silicon Beach, production bonuses for folks working in Burbank studios, and commission structures that change month to month.
We calculate accurate time-share percentages
In LA, where traffic can turn a 10-mile drive into an hour-long ordeal, the actual time your child spends with each parent matters enormously.
If you’re driving from Long Beach to Pasadena to pick up your kids every Friday, that affects the calculation. We document everything to make sure your parenting time is accurately reflected.
We handle the paperwork correctly the first time. Correctly completing all paperwork the first time is critical because there are specific local procedural and rule requirements to follow in Los Angeles Superior Court. Deadlines for filing are also very important. The Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150) must be 100% complete and accurate.
If you miss a deadline or file with any errors, you will likely incur delays in the child support determination process, or even worse, be defaulted against.
We appear with you at the courthouse
As we accompany you to court, whether it’s at one of the court locations downtown on Stanley Mosk Courthouse or the Van Nuys location, we are ready and prepared to advocate for what we believe in. Our attorneys have many years of experience, and we have seen cases where having an experienced attorney has had a direct positive impact on the judge’s overall perception of your case.
Whether or not you have been married previously to the other parent of your child, or if you are in the process of getting divorced and require a Child Support Order, the procedure of obtaining an Order for Child Support involves filing a Request for Order (FL-300) with the appropriate court, and providing a lot of financial information about both parties.
One thing we see all the time: parents who try to agree on a number between themselves, without understanding the guideline calculation. They shake hands on $500 a month, thinking that’s fair, but the guideline calculation might actually be $850. Or vice versa.
The court won’t approve a stipulated amount unless it meets certain requirements, and having a child support lawyer who knows what those requirements are saves you from having to redo everything.
This is probably the most common situation we handle. Life changes. You lose your job. Your ex gets a big promotion. Your teenager now needs braces and therapy. Your custody schedule shifts because your child started high school in a different neighbourhood.
Under California law, you can request a modification if there’s been a “significant change in circumstances”. In Los Angeles County, we file this through a Request for Order at the courthouse where your original order was entered.
The key is documenting that change. If you lost your job, we need to show you’re actively seeking new employment. If your ex is underreporting income, we may need to conduct discovery to get accurate financial information.
The 2024 changes to California’s support laws have made modifications somewhat easier in certain situations. The new guidelines for allocating add-on expenses (things like uninsured medical costs and childcare) are no longer automatically split 50/50. They’re now allocated based on each parent’s relative net income, which can make a meaningful difference for LA families dealing with high childcare costs.
To be blunt: if your ex isn’t paying court-ordered child support, they’re breaking the law. Period. The ramifications of not establishing an order for child support can be severe, including wage garnishment, liens against property, suspension of license, and jail. If you currently receive public assistance, you may want to contact the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department (CSSD) regarding the possibility of enforcing child support, as they offer this service.
In many cases however, parents who hire a private attorney to assist them with child support enforcement are able to achieve results faster than if they used CSSD. As private attorneys, we can utilize the Order to Show Cause process, request wage assignments, and use other enforcement avenues through the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Many people do not know that California introduced Electronic Income Withholding Orders (E-IWOs) starting in 2024, which will streamline the process for garnishing wages after a divorce has been finalized. If your ex has a job, the employer will automatically deduct the amount of child support from his/her pay check and send that payment to the State Disbursement Unit. This significantly reduces the likelihood of late or missed payments.
Unpaid child support doesn’t just disappear. Also, arrears accumulate in the form of back child support, and will accrue interest in California at the rate of 10% per year. We’ve seen cases where someone owed $15,000 in back support, and by the time we got involved, interest had pushed that number past $25,000.
Here’s what’s critical to understand: child support arrears cannot be waived or negotiated away. If you owe back support, you owe it. But if you’re the parent owed money, we can help you collect it through every legal means available including asking the court to hold the other parent in contempt.
Parents most frequently ask us, “How much is my child support going to be,” and the answer is, “It depends.” The statewide guideline formula is complicated, but some of the elements used to calculate the amount of child support are as follows:
To give you a rough idea; Parent A has $5000 a month of net income who has a 70% time-share of their child. Parent B has $8000 a month of net income with a 30% time-share of their child. Based on this information, Parent B should expect to be responsible for paying approximately $1200-$1500 per month as basic child support. This doesn’t have any additional expenses (such as healthcare or childcare) which can easily drive up the cost by an additional $500-$800 per month in LA.
You can use California’s online child support calculator for a rough estimate, but I always recommend having a lawyer review the numbers. Small errors in how you calculate net disposable income can swing the final amount by hundreds of dollars.
We could practice family law anywhere in California, but we chose Los Angeles. This is our community. We have raised my own family here, and watched this city change over years. That local knowledge matters more than you might think.
We know that rent control laws work differently in West LA than they do in Glendale. I know which judges at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse are sticklers for proper notice and which ones will grant a continuance if you have a legitimate emergency. We know that documenting childcare expenses for a family in Santa Monica looks different than documenting them for a family in South LA.
When you hire a Los Angeles child support lawyer from Moradi Neufer, you’re not just getting someone who passed the California bar exam. Backed by our family law attorneys, this experience ensures informed guidance at every stage of your child support matter. You will have access to an expert who knows the LA County Superior Court system like the back of their hand.
They have been to the Clerk’s office at the Courthouse on Spring Street innumerable times. They will understand fully that as a single parent who works in Century City, you have many things to take into consideration when dealing with your commute and logistical issues regarding childcare.
We believe in being transparent in everything we do. When you call us, here’s how it works:
Free Consultation: We will sit down with you, discuss your situation, answer your questions, and let you know if can help you with your case or not. There will be absolutely no pressure or sales pitch.
Clear Fee Structure: We explain our fees in advance, so you know exactly what you’re going to pay. For simple things like support cases, we usually have a flat rate to help you save time and money. If you have a more complicated lawsuit, we quote our lawyer’s hourly rate but provide you with an estimate of how much you’ll pay total.
Consistent Updates & Awareness of Case: You will always know what is going on with your case. Your attorney will call you back quickly, and will keep you current on all deadlines, hearings, and case activity.
Strategic Approach: Every case is different; therefore, we do not use a one-size-fits-all approach. We develop an individualized legal strategy that meets your unique needs.
If you or your child’s other parent earns significant income say, over $150,000 per year, the guideline calculation can produce very high support amounts. California law does allow judges to deviate from the guideline in high-income cases, but you need to present a compelling argument.
We’ve successfully argued for guideline deviations in cases involving entertainment industry professionals, real estate developers, and tech executives.
If you own a business in LA whether it’s a restaurant in Koreatown, a boutique on Melrose, or a contracting company in the Valley, calculating your income for child support purposes gets complicated.
To be sure we’re calculating income correctly, we frequently employ forensic accountants to review the income tax returns and businesses’ financial records (such as profit and loss statements) of the businesses and support provided for those businesses as part of a child support calculation.
It’s not uncommon in LA for someone to have child support obligations to more than one family. California law allows for a “hardship deduction” if you’re paying court-ordered support for children from another relationship. We make sure the court properly accounts for these obligations.
If you or your ex is stationed at one of LA’s military bases like the Air Force base in El Segundo, there are special rules that apply. Military income includes base pay plus allowances, and deployment can affect custody time-shares and support calculations.
Child support cases don’t get easier if you ignore them. Court orders don’t go away because you’re stressed or confused. As soon as you speak with a child support lawyer in Los Angeles, the sooner we can help you protect your rights and your children’s best interests..
Whether you’re in El Sereno or Pacific Palisades, Boyle Heights or Brentwood, we’re here to help. We’ve guided thousands of LA families through child support issues, and we’re ready to guide you too.
Call Moradi Neufer today to schedule your free consultation. Let’s talk about your situation and figure out the best path forward together.
Child support is determined using the California statewide guideline formula. Child support calculations consider both parents’ net disposable income, how often the child stays with each parent (the percentage of time spent), and health insurance and childcare costs. The California statewide guidelines were changed in September 2024 for the first time since 1992, so they are now better able to reflect current economic conditions, especially in high-cost areas like Los Angeles. The judges in the Los Angeles County Superior Court (LA Court) will take local cost of living into account, so partnering with an attorney who understands how LA Court’s decision will be different than another jurisdiction’s will be critical.
Yes, you can request a modification in Los Angeles if there’s been a substantial change in circumstances like job loss, significant income change, or altered custody arrangements. However, modifications only apply going forward from the date you file your Request for Order with the LA Superior Court, not retroactively.
The court will expect to see that you’re actively seeking new employment if you’ve lost your job. At Moradi Neufer, we document your changed circumstances and job search efforts to present the strongest case possible to LA County judges.
Non-payment of child support is a serious legal violation in Los Angeles with real consequences including wage garnishment, property liens, license suspension, tax refund interception, and even jail time for contempt of court. Under California law, child support arrears accumulate 10% annual interest and cannot be waived.
You can work with LA County Child Support Services Department for free enforcement, or hire a private attorney for potentially faster results. We’ve successfully collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in back support for LA parents through enforcement actions in the LA Superior Court.
In Los Angeles and throughout California, child support typically continues until the child turns 18 OR graduates from high school, whichever occurs later, but not past age 19. If your child has a disability preventing self-support, payments can continue indefinitely. Important: you cannot simply stop payments when your child turns 18 if they’re still in high school, you need an LA Superior Court order terminating the obligation. For families with multiple children, support obligations end individually for each child as they reach the age limit.
While you can technically represent yourself at the LA Superior Court, child support calculations are complex, and mistakes can cost thousands of dollars over the life of the order. You risk miscalculating income, missing filing deadlines, failing to document deductible expenses, or getting a default judgement against you.
For straightforward cases with W-2 jobs and simple custody schedules, you might manage alone, but for modifications, enforcement, self-employment cases, or high incomes, an experienced Los Angeles child support attorney makes an enormous difference. Our free consultation helps you understand whether you need representation.
Yes, parents in LA can agree on a support amount through a stipulation, but it must be submitted to the LA Superior Court for approval. California courts generally won’t approve agreements significantly different from the guideline calculation unless both parents have attorneys and sign waivers.
LA County judges are particularly careful about approving below-guideline agreements given the high cost of living here. At Moradi Neufer, we help LA parents negotiate fair stipulations the court will approve, avoiding contested hearings while protecting your child’s welfare.
Basic child support in LA covers everyday expenses like food, housing, clothing, and transportation. However, many costs are shared separately as “add-ons”: uninsured healthcare (co-pays, dental, therapy), childcare for work (often $1,500-$2,000/month in Los Angeles), private school tuition, and agreed-upon extracurriculars.
As of September 2024, California law changed how these add-ons are divided now based on each parent’s income percentage rather than automatically split 50/50. We ensure you understand your total financial responsibility beyond the base support amount.
Income concealment is common in LA, especially where many people are self-employed or work in cash-based industries. We uncover hidden income through discovery at the LA Superior Court: subpoenaing bank records, requesting tax returns, analysing business statements, and investigating lifestyle inconsistencies.
If we prove deliberate underreporting, the court can “impute” income based on earning capacity under California law. In one LA case, we proved a parent claiming $3,000/month actually earned over $10,000/month, resulting in significantly higher support for the child.
Legal fees for child support cases in Los Angeles vary based on the complexity of your situation. For straightforward cases, many attorneys offer flat-fee arrangements, while contested cases involving disputes about income or custody may be billed hourly.
During your consultation, we’ll discuss your specific situation and provide a clear fee structure upfront with no surprises. Consider this: an error of just $200/month in your support calculation means $43,200 over 18 years, so proper legal representation is an investment that typically pays for itself.
10. What should I bring to my first consultation with a Los Angeles child support attorney?
Bring your last three months of pay stubs, recent tax returns (last 2 years), existing court orders from LA Superior Court, documentation of childcare expenses, health insurance information, a written summary of your custody schedule, and information about special expenses.
If it’s a modification case, bring documentation of changed circumstances, like a termination letter or new job offer. Don’t worry if you don’t have everything; we can work with what you have and obtain additional information through legal channels if needed.
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