Family law: child support formula.

Under existing law, the parents of a minor child are responsible for supporting the child. Existing law establishes statewide uniform guidelines for calculating court-ordered child support. These guidelines provide that if an obligor's net disposable monthly income is less than $1,000, there is a rebuttable presumption that the obligor is entitled to a low-income adjustment that reduces the child support amount. Under existing law, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence that applying the low-income adjustment would be unjust and inappropriate. This bill would, until January 1, 2018, increase the net disposable income threshold to $1,500 per month and require this threshold to be adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on March 1, 2013, and annually until January 1, 2018, to determine the adjustment amount based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index, as specified.