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Okay, let's say hypothetically I have an order for $500/mo child support, plus CA ordered my employer to enroll my 2 children in my health insurance plan, which costs me an additional $300/mo. This brings the total to $800/mo. The current guidelines say, based on my income, plus a hardship deduction for the 2 children with my current wife, that my monthly support amount should be $458.

Does CA count the money you pay in monthly premiums for insurance as part of your required support, or do they require you to pay the full amount PLUS whatever your insurance costs?

I am paying full amount plus health insurance, I have 2 children with me, and because of this additional amount we cannot pay our bills, we have lost all means of transportation (car was repoed), we cannot afford food for our children, and we are about to lose our apartment because we can't keep up with our rent. After all the deductions we are left with virtually nothing once we factor in trying to feed ourselves, keep lights on, keep water on, and all that.

What advice can anyone give me? Is there a way to file for an emergency modification or something? I cannot afford a lawyer, and we are about to be in some deep stuff VERY soon if I cannot get some sort of relief from this large amount of money being deducted.

Hey just wanted to update this in case anyone was wondering. FL was basically pulling in anyone they could find that had a support case and was trying to scare people into lump sum agreements before the hearing, even though my case is in CA! I told them no agreement, and when my turn came to go in front of the hearing officer, they advised me that CA had told them to cease and desist and close any open cases they had with my name on it. So everything is good! Thanks to all for your help!

Why are all of you donors more interested in hiding out then in supporting your child?  The father that complained that his 6-yr old daughter cried when being separated from her Mom and told the child that it hurt his feelings when she cried?  You are the most disgusting human being on earth.  Moms and kids have a biological connection that you will never understand. Kids are very connected to good Moms.  And then you go on to blame the Mom even though she is supportive to the child and tries to help.  You don't even deserve that.  Kids have a very tough time bouncin between homes.  MAN UP and leave your child alone...let her lead a normal life and just pick her up every other weekend.  Losers, all of you!!!! 

This is exactly why fathers in this country are in the mess they are in now. We are looked at as "donors" and many mothers think that a monthly check is a good substitute for a father's love. You may want to also revisit your junior high health classes, because it takes two people to reproduce. Fathers also have a biological bond with their children. Being a father is something that most women do not understand. It is a great sense of pride, honor, and responsibility that most fathers have.
Yes, kids do have a very tough time bouncing between homes, especially when their mother feels scorned and feels a sense of entitlement to ruin the father emotionally and financially just to get even. We, as fathers, do worry about our wallets because we want to make sure we are able to take care of all of our responsibilities, and most of the men on here are the ones that want to do right by our children. But the laws are, in many ways, twisted to this notion that we are all guilty of being deadbeats way before we are proven innocent. I hope that you do not share or express this sense of rage and anger in front of your children, because all that does is further damage to them and to their ability to form trust with their parents later in life.

The time spans that I was out of work were short enough that I didn't bother reporting a change of circumstance. I do have an additional amount coming out each paycheck specifically for arrears, so it isn't like they are just building and building. I just don't understand why this would be coming up if I have been paying all this time. I don't have the financial ability to pay the arrears in a lump sum, and I don't have the financial ability to pay a purge, so I don't know what else to do. I pay, so why would they be coming after me for contempt??
Also, there were times that I was underemployed, as in not making enough money to pay the full amount. I was making $6 an hour at one point, had another child, rent, car payment, etc. and I asked for a modification and they reduced it by a measly $20 a month. My employer had idiots working in HR and they completely messed up my deductions. The law is that you cannot take more than 50% of the net pay for CS deductions and insurance. They took out the full amount each pay period, plus deductions, which left me with $75 every two weeks to live on with myself, my fiance, and a baby. I alerted them to their error and they basically didn't care. Regardless, I know that some arrears built up, but as stated before, I pay on the arrears every pay period. I am making a reasonable effort to abide by the order. I am not hiding from them. I am not quitting my job to avoid paying like a lot of people seem to do. I work hard and do everything I can to get ahead and now this.....should I play it safe and spend money I don't have on obtaining a lawyer? I am almost afraid to go to the hearing without one, because I have heard all the horror stories and I cannot go to jail. I have a fiance, two toddlers, and a good job that I cannot afford to lose because they want to play games with me....sorry to ramble but this is insane!!

Does anyone have any idea here? I am a little desperate for info, and I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people here. Out of 97 views someone has to know something....any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I just received a notice in the mail today saying my ex (custodial parent) is petitioning for an order of contempt for not paying child support. I am in arrears, but I have a withholding order that tacks on an additional amount per pay period to go towards arrears. I have been paying through income deduction for quite a few years. I reside in FL and my ex resides in CA. I checked my payments on the CA website and they only go back to 2006, but there is a clear record of steady payment to at least January 2006. I started income withholding back in 2000 or 2001. There were a couple of times that I was unemployed, but the deductions resumed as soon as I started working again.
Why would I be getting such a notice when it is obvious that I have been paying all this time?  I am extremely concerned because I know how skewed a lot of the statutes are. I currently have 2 other biological children that live with me and my fiance, and I am the sole provider. Will they try to force me into a situation where I must pay a purge to avoid incarceration? I pay everything I can, and we struggle to make ends meet as it is. I know in FL there was a case, Larsen vs. Larsen that stated the non-custodial parent could not be held in civil or criminal contempt if they are financially unable to pay the purge, but I am really scared. I don't want to go to jail, lose my jobs, lose my kids, and all of that, especially since I have been paying all of this time.
Can someone give me some much needed guidance? Should I consult an attorney (which I cannot afford)?