Is my speculative bonus income used for a child support calculation?

No. This is different than Ostler/Smith Orders. Under California Family Code Section 4508, speculative bonus income – such as the potential to make a large commission at the end of the year, cannot be included in income used for calculations of spousal and child support. This is because a court may not base monthly support amount on predicted receipt of large bonus that may never materialize.

Other types of money that cannot be included as income are: Student Loans not used for books and tuition and Life insurance death benefits.

However, Gordon Family Law does not advise that you hide all your cash in speculative bonuses or student loans to avoid payments. Why? Because even if the Court rules that a certain category of income is not includable as gross income for the purposes of calculating guideline support, a party can ask the court to deviate from the guideline based on the income received as a “special circumstance,” which would allow the court to increase child or spousal support.