Can Parents Waive Child Support in California?

Can parents legally agree to waive child support in California?

One of the biggest misconceptions in California family law is that parents can permanently eliminate child support through a private agreement or a one-time lump-sum payment.

In this short, experienced family law attorneys explain why child support is governed by California law, why private agreements may not hold up in court, and why support is considered the child's legal right—not the parents'.

"One of the most common misconceptions about child support in California is the belief that it can either be ended by agreement or that it can be bought out with a lump sum or that maybe some asset can be in exchange for child support payments in the future. The problem with that is that it's controlled by statute. And so if you have an agreement and everybody agrees and nobody does anything in court, that agreement will hold. It's only as good as the paper it's printed on.

If somebody decides, well, we agreed that you would buy me out for a million dollars and I wouldn't seek child support and then they go request child support, guess what? They're going to be able to get child support if all the other factors are met.

That's because support is for the child and by operation of law, you can't just agree to violate the statutes and the law related to that.

So quite frankly, if you're in a position where you have to pay child support or you believe you're going to have to pay child support, what can you do? Find ways then to pay realistic child support based on guideline."