I am currently incarcerated. Do my child support payments automatically stop when I am in prison or jail?

It depends on the date when your most recent child support order was issued by the judge AND for how long you were incarcerated. For most people, though, the answer is NO—child support generally does NOT stop automatically while you’re incarcerated.

WILL MY CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS STOP AUTOMATICALLY WHILE I’M INCARCERATED?

NO, your payments WILL NOT stop automatically if your child support order was issued before July 1, 2011.

If your current child support order was issued before July 1, 2011, your child support payments will NOT stop automatically while you’re incarcerated.

You will continue to owe child support payments while you are incarcerated, unless you get the judge to change your child support order.

To stop your child support payments while you are incarcerated, you will need to ask the judge to reduce your payments to $0 because you do not have any income (unless you have an outside source of income to make your payments). See PG. 782 to learn how to do this.

YES, your payments SHOULD stop automatically if your child support order was issued on or after July 1, 2011, AND you arcerated for 90 days or more.

If your current child support order was issued on or after July 1, 2011 AND you are incarcerated for 90 days or more, your child support payments will be automatically paused (suspended) while you are incarcerated.[2554]

This means that you will not owe any child support during the time you are incarcerated, and you will not have to do anything to make this to happen. But your child support payments will automatically continue again after you are released.[2555]

This special law applies to child support orders issued (i.e., made and/or changed) on or after July 1, 2011, for parents who are incarcerated for 90 days or more.[2556] However, it may not apply if you are incarcerated for domestic violence, harassment, or for violating a previous child support order, OR if you have outside income and can afford to make payments while you’re incarcerated.[2557]

In summary: If your most recent child support order was issued by the judge (i.e., made or changed) on or after July 1, AND you are/were incarcerated for 90 days or more, your payments should automatically stop while you are incarcerated. If your child support order was NOT made on or after July 1, 2011, your payments will NOT automatically stop while you’re incarcerated (but you can ask the judge to reduce your payments to $0 while you’re incarcerated—see Appendix L, PG. 824.

  1. 2554

    Cal. Fam. Code § 4007.5(a)(1). The law applies to child support orders issued on or after July 1, 2011, and remains in effect until July 1, 2020. § 4007.5(g), (h). It is possible this law will be extended. ↑

  2. 2555

    Cal. Fam. Code § 4007.5(a)(2). ↑

  3. 2556

    Cal. Fam. Code § 4007.5(g), (i). ↑

  4. 2557

    Cal. Fam. Code § 4007.5(a)(1), (d). ↑