CALIFORNIA FAMILY LAW
...Child Support
......Amount
.........Financial Ability
............Rent/Mortgage Free Housing
7 Cards On This Topic:

No abuse of discretion in failing to attribute value of rent free housing H shared with his parents as income available for support.

Error to order temp. support payments be paid from community funds in blocked account, rather than from H's share, as it retroactively reduced H's support obligation and impermissibly required W to pay half of her own support.

Since H’s “free rent” was represented by cash gifts, okay to include as income available for support.

Cannot treat rental value of mortgage free housing as tax free income for child support; must calculate guideline and then deviate from it if appropriate.

Benefits that reduce living expenses should not be treated as income items for c/s formula, but as factors rebutting the presumptive amount.

Obligor parent's "mortgage-free housing" could be considered income for c/s purposes.

For c/s purposes, court properly considered gross income as earning capacity plus disability benefits, rent-free reservation housing and meal allowance.