Incarcerated Parents Manual, Chapter 6- Child Support Issues for Incarcerated Parents in California

This manual (written in 2023) is designed to help incarcerated parents who are faced with a new request for child support for their children or who owe past child support. California law recognizes that most parents do not have the ability to pay child support while they are incarcerated. A special law suspends your child support under certain circumstances. This manual explains those circumstances and how you can make sure that this law protects you. It covers situations where child support is being requested by the other parent as well as where the Department of Child Support Services is involved. The rules and procedures are sometimes different in those two situations. It also addresses how you can proactively seek to modify a current child support order in anticipation of your release. We hope that this manual will give you the information and tools you need to address your child support matter.

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