ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

California Child Support Guideline Review

So, you know how when mommy and daddy get a divorce, they need to make sure that they still take care of you, right? Well, sometimes mommy or daddy might need a little extra help to take care of you, like if you need lots of food, clothes or other things to make you happy and healthy. That’s where child support comes in.

In California, there are rules called child support guidelines that help to decide how much money mommy or daddy should give to the other person to help take care of you. These guidelines look at things like how much money mommy or daddy make, how many other kids they have to take care of, and how much time you spend with each parent.

Every few years, the people who make the rules stop and check to see if everything is still fair and making sense. They do this because sometimes things change and they want to make sure that you and all the other kids in California are still being taken care of like you should be.

This is called a “child support guideline review” - kind of like when your teacher checks your work to make sure you’re doing it right. They look at all the things that go into the guidelines and make sure that everything is still good for the children of California. Then the people who make the rules might change things a little bit if they need to.

So, basically, a California child support guideline review is just a way to make sure that you and all the other kids in California can still get the help you need from mommy and daddy even if they don’t live together anymore.