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Last Modified on Nov 15, 2026
California parents can ask the court to approve child support of zero dollars in an appropriate case. They cannot make a binding agreement permanently surrendering the child’s right to support or preventing the court from addressing future support. Those are different legal arrangements, even when both parents describe the agreement as “waiving child support.”
The details matter. Did the guideline calculation actually produce zero? Did the parents agree to less than guideline? Was the agreement approved as an order? Does an older order still require payments? And are the parents discussing future installments or an existing arrears balance? Each question can change the result.
This article explains current and future support agreements. For a dispute about amounts already past due, see our separate guide to child support arrears agreements and Marriage of Allen. The complete directory is in our California child support guide.
A zero-dollar order is different from a permanent waiver
A zero-dollar basic support order determines the amount payable under the circumstances addressed by that order. It does not necessarily eliminate health insurance, childcare, uninsured medical expenses, or other separately ordered obligations. It also does not remove the court’s authority to consider a proper later request.
A permanent waiver attempts to go further: one parent promises never to seek support, regardless of future income, parenting arrangements, or the child’s needs. Parents cannot make that promise binding on the child or use it to take away the court’s support authority.
In In re Marriage of Ayo (1987) 190 Cal.App.3d 442, the parents entered an agreement intended to relieve the father of further obligations concerning the child. The mother promised to hold him harmless from claims. Both parents had lawyers, and a judge signed the agreement. The Court of Appeal nevertheless rejected the attempted permanent release of the support obligation as contrary to public policy.
Ayo illustrates why clearer drafting alone cannot rescue an agreement whose substance impermissibly eliminates a child’s support rights. Counsel can help prepare a lawful support arrangement; counsel cannot make a prohibited permanent waiver enforceable merely by adding formal language.
First determine whether zero is the guideline amount
California uses a statewide guideline that considers income, parenting responsibility, taxes, and other statutory factors. Run an accurate calculation before deciding whether an agreement is at, below, or above guideline. Our guide to calculating California child support explains the starting information.
Equal parenting time does not automatically produce zero support. Different incomes and other inputs may still generate a payment from one parent to the other. Conversely, if the applicable calculation genuinely produces zero, an agreement adopting that amount is not a below-guideline agreement simply because no basic support changes hands.
Consider two hypothetical families. In the first, the correct guideline amount is $0, and the parents agree to that amount. In the second, guideline is $900 per month, but the parents ask the court to approve $0 because the children’s needs will be met through their proposed arrangements. Both orders may show $0, but the second requires the below-guideline analysis and carries a different modification consequence.
The calculation and supporting facts should be retained with the agreement. A later disagreement can become much harder to resolve if the papers state only “neither parent pays support” and never identify what guideline would have required.
What is required for an agreement below guideline?
Under Family Code section 4065(a), a child support stipulation requires court approval, subject to applicable federal law. Before approving an agreed amount below guideline, the court must receive the parents’ declarations addressing all five statutory requirements:
- Both parents are fully informed of their child support rights.
- The agreement is voluntary and made without coercion or duress.
- The agreement serves the children’s best interests.
- The stipulated amount will adequately meet the children’s needs.
- The right to support has not been assigned to the county under Welfare and Institutions Code section 11477, and no public assistance application is pending.
These are substantive protections. The parents should be able to explain how housing, food, clothing, transportation, and other needs will be met under the arrangement. A parent’s wish to end an argument does not, by itself, establish that a proposed zero-dollar order adequately provides for the children.
In addition, Family Code section 4056 requires the court to state the guideline amount, the reasons for ordering a different amount, and why the ordered amount is consistent with the children’s best interests. California Rules of Court, rule 5.260(b)(3) calls for form FL-342(A) or conforming language in an agreement or judgment that departs from guideline.
An agreed departure and a contested request for the judge to depart from guideline are different routes. A parent who wants a reduction without the other parent’s agreement must establish an applicable legal basis and supporting facts. See when a court may order less than guideline support.
Can the other parent later ask for guideline support?
Yes. Section 4065(d) provides that, when parents stipulate to support below guideline, no change of circumstances must be shown to obtain a modification to the applicable guideline level or above. A parent cannot safely treat the other parent’s agreement to accept less as permanent financial protection.
For the hypothetical $900 guideline calculation reduced by agreement to $0, the parent requesting a later increase to guideline does not first have to prove a new job loss, income change, or change in parenting time. The court still needs the information necessary to calculate the applicable amount, and the parent must use the proper procedure. An award above guideline still requires a legally supported basis for exceeding guideline.
A zero-dollar order that actually reflected guideline generally falls under the ordinary requirement of a material change of circumstances for modification. Relevant changes may include income, parenting responsibility, or other circumstances affecting the calculation. Read the actual order and record; the number zero alone does not establish which rule applies.
The distinction also works in the other direction. In In re Marriage of Laudeman (2001) 92 Cal.App.4th 1009, a father who had agreed to above-guideline support could not obtain a reduction merely because he wanted to return to guideline. The court required a material change of circumstances. The special rule for increasing an agreed below-guideline order is not a general right to undo every support bargain.
Will an increase create years of retroactive support?
Not automatically. The right to request a new amount and the date that amount can begin are separate issues. A properly entered zero-dollar order is different from an unchanged order requiring payments that a parent simply stopped making.
Under Family Code section 3651(c) and section 3653, modification generally cannot reach installments accruing before the modification request was filed, subject to statutory exceptions and applicable federal law. The court must determine the permissible effective date in the particular proceeding.
If an existing $900 order remained in place while the parents informally agreed that nothing would be paid, the unpaid installments present an arrears issue. That is not the same as increasing a valid $0 order. Payment credits, satisfaction, and other recognized defenses require their own evidence and analysis.
If there has never been a support order, the case may instead involve establishing initial support. Do not assume rules for modifying an existing order answer that question. Our retroactive support modification guide explains why the orders and filing dates must be examined carefully.
Does DCSS have to approve the agreement?
If the local child support agency is providing services under Family Code section 17400, section 4065(c) requires the agency to join the stipulation by signing it. This requirement is not limited to families currently receiving cash assistance. An agreement signed only by the parents may be missing a necessary participant.
The statute also prohibits the agency from stipulating below guideline when the children receive CalWORKs, an application for public assistance is pending, or the parent receiving support has not consented. Assigned support rights and public assistance must be reviewed before anyone declares that the statutory conditions are satisfied.
Closing an agency file is also different from changing the underlying support order. A promise to “drop DCSS” should not be treated as a clear, permanent termination of support. See what happens when a parent wants to close a DCSS case.
Can we trade child support for no visitation?
A parent cannot make a permanent support release enforceable by agreeing to stay away from the child. A child’s right to financial support and the legal standards governing custody and visitation require separate attention. Neither parent should rely on a bargain that treats the child’s relationship with a parent as the price of support.
Ayo is particularly relevant to this problem: its agreement attempted to release support obligations while the father abandoned rights concerning the child. The court rejected that arrangement. A promise to reimburse the paying parent for any support later ordered can face the same underlying public-policy objection.
If there are safety concerns, the requested custody or visitation restrictions should be supported by the facts and addressed through the appropriate court process. If a stepparent adoption is contemplated, an intention to pursue it is not the same as a completed adoption or an order terminating parental rights. Obtain advice about the actual proceedings and their effective dates.
For example, language stating “I will not ask for support as long as you never visit” creates serious problems even if both parents initially comply. A later return to court calls for analysis of the existing support and custody orders, not simply a decision about which parent broke that private promise first.
What if one parent receives more property instead?
A property settlement does not automatically purchase a permanent exemption from child support. Family Code section 3585 treats child support provisions as separate and severable from provisions concerning property and spousal support. A child support order based on an agreement remains an exercise of the court’s support authority.
The parties may have legitimate reasons to structure a settlement around housing, debt payments, or other resources. Those arrangements must be described accurately and evaluated within the support rules. A transfer of equity or payment of a mortgage should not be casually labeled “all future child support paid in full.”
The agreement should explain what each payment or transfer accomplishes, how it relates to current support, and what happens if circumstances change. Otherwise, a parent may give up substantial property based on an assumption that does not prevent a later support request.
What remains payable under a zero-dollar basic support order?
Review the entire order. Family Code section 4062 addresses qualifying childcare and reasonable uninsured health-care costs as additional support, along with specified discretionary expenses. Setting basic monthly support at zero does not, by itself, resolve those obligations.
A workable agreement identifies health insurance responsibilities, how covered additional expenses will be allocated, what documentation is required, and the reimbursement procedure. Do not assume every expense is divided equally or that every activity creates a separate reimbursement obligation.
Our guides address childcare expenses, uninsured medical expenses, and health insurance orders. Read those terms before concluding that “zero support” means there will be no further financial exchanges.
How do we make a support agreement a court order?
The California Courts guide to preparing a child support agreement explains the process. Parents may use form FL-350, Stipulation to Establish or Modify Child Support and Order, in an existing case. Appropriate attachments, financial information, and agency approval must be included where required.
Identify the children, the amount, the effective date, additional expenses, and how any existing order is being changed. Include the guideline calculation and required findings. Submit the agreement for court approval and obtain the filed order; a private signature or notarization alone does not make it a new court order.
If wage withholding or agency collection is already operating, address implementation as well. Confirm what updated paperwork is required so the employer or agency acts consistently with the new order. Neither parent should assume an informal understanding automatically changes payroll deductions or the agency ledger.
Keep future support separate from arrears
A zero-dollar order for future basic support does not itself erase installments already owed. The published decision in Marriage of Allen (Feb. 6, 2026, B338855) rejects private contractual forgiveness of past-due child support even after the children have reached adulthood.
That does not make every asserted balance correct. A missing payment credit, a bona fide dispute about the obligation, satisfaction through actual support, and an authorized governmental compromise raise distinct questions. An agreement should identify its legal basis and the particular amounts affected. Broad language releasing “everything” is not a substitute for that analysis.
Our Allen and arrears-settlement article addresses those issues in detail. Before signing a support agreement, gather the existing orders, current income records, parenting schedule, guideline calculation, additional-expense provisions, and a payment history if arrears are involved.
Review a proposed child support agreement
Edgar & Dow represents parents in Riverside, Temecula, Murrieta, and throughout Southern California. We review proposed support agreements, explain their modification consequences, and prepare orders addressing the children’s needs and the parents’ actual financial arrangements. Contact our office or call 951-684-6885.
This article provides general information about California law. The existing orders, facts, and procedural posture determine the available relief. Reviewed November 14, 2026.
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