California’s AB 2165 changes child support for military parents by removing VA disability compensation and the non-taxable portion of military retirement pay from the “gross income” figure that drives the state’s guideline formula. A lower income input produces a lower presumptive support amount. The law does not change any existing order on its own: if you qualify, you have to file a modification request, and the date you file controls how far back the reduction can reach.
What Income AB 2165 Takes Out of the Calculation
California child support starts from each parent’s annual gross income under Family Code section 4058, which is written broadly enough to pull in wages, pensions, Social Security, “veterans benefits that are not based on need,” and “military allowances for housing and food.”1California Legislative Information. California Family Code 4058 Before AB 2165, courts routinely counted VA disability compensation under that language because it is tied to a service-connected condition rather than financial need.
AB 2165 carves two categories out of that gross income figure:
- VA disability compensation. The monthly tax-free payment the VA makes to veterans with service-connected injuries or illnesses, at any rating from 10% to 100%.2U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Disability Compensation
- The non-taxable portion of military retirement pay. When a retiree waives part of a taxable military pension to receive VA disability instead, that waived slice becomes non-taxable, and AB 2165 directs courts to leave it out of gross income.
The exclusion is limited to those benefits. Taxable military retirement pay, civilian wages, self-employment income, and any other earnings still count in full.
How the Guideline Number Drops
California’s guideline formula lives in Family Code section 4055, and its central input is each parent’s net monthly disposable income, which begins with gross income.3California Legislative Information. California Family Code 4055 Pull VA disability and the non-taxable retirement slice out of that starting figure and the military parent’s net disposable income shrinks before the formula runs.
There is a second effect. The formula contains a “K” factor that varies with the parents’ combined net income; it rises when combined income rises and falls when it falls. A lower income figure for the military parent pulls combined income down too, which can move both parents into a lower K bracket. The base amount drops, and the percentage applied to that base can drop as well.
Low-Income Adjustment
For a veteran whose VA disability was the bulk of what used to count, removing it may push countable income below full-time minimum wage. Under section 4055(b)(7), that triggers a rebuttable presumption that the paying parent qualifies for a further low-income reduction on top of the exclusion itself.3California Legislative Information. California Family Code 4055 It does not reduce support to zero, but it stacks with the AB 2165 exclusion.
Military Pay That Doesn’t Fit Neatly in the Exclusion
Several federal benefits sit near VA disability but follow their own rules. Misclassifying them is one of the most common errors in military support cases.
CRDP (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay). Retirees with a VA disability rating of 50% or higher can collect full military retirement pay and VA disability without the usual dollar-for-dollar offset. When CRDP applies, the VA waiver shrinks and the taxable retirement portion grows.4Defense Finance and Accounting Service. CRDP-CRSC FAQs That taxable portion still counts as income. If you receive CRDP, separate the taxable retirement component (counted) from the VA disability component (excluded) on your paperwork.
CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation). A separate tax-free payment for retirees whose disabilities are combat-related. Federal rules make CRSC subject to garnishment for child support even though it is not retired pay under the USFSPA.5MilitaryPay (Defense Finance and Accounting Service). Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Program Guidance Whether a California court will treat CRSC as equivalent to VA disability for AB 2165 exclusion purposes is unsettled and likely to be litigated.
USFSPA property division. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act allows state courts to divide a service member’s “disposable retired pay,” which federal law defines as total retirement pay minus certain deductions including the amount waived to receive VA disability.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 10 – 1408 If you have a divorce with both a property division and a support order, the same waived dollars that shrank your former spouse’s divisible share now also drop out of the support calculation. Track which bucket each dollar belongs to.
How to Modify an Existing Order
No existing order recalculates on its own. A change in governing law counts as changed circumstances under Family Code section 3651, which is the statutory basis for asking the court to redo the number.7California Legislative Information. California Family Code 3651
You start by filing a Request for Order on Judicial Council Form FL-300 in the family law court that issued the original order.8California Courts. Request for Order (FL-300) File an updated Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) with it. The declaration needs to show exactly how your income breaks down: how much is VA disability, how much is taxable retired pay, how much is the non-taxable waived portion, and how much comes from employment or other sources. Attach your VA disability rating letter and a recent Retiree Account Statement or LES showing the breakdown.
If current support is garnished from your military pay, nothing changes at the pay center until the new court order reaches it. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service processes garnishment documents by fax or through its askDFAS portal, and every submission must include the service member’s Social Security number or it will be returned without action.9Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Garnishment
Why Filing Quickly Matters: Arrears Are Permanent
Any support that comes due before you file is owed in full, no matter what AB 2165 would have produced under a corrected calculation. Federal law at 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(9) prohibits any state from retroactively reducing child support that has already accrued.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – 666 A judge has no discretion to forgive past-due support, and bankruptcy will not discharge it.
The one window: a modification can reach back to the date your petition was filed and properly served, but no earlier. Every month between the effective date of AB 2165 and the day your FL-300 is on file is a month calculated under the old rules, and once it accrues it becomes a permanent judgment. If you qualify, file first and refine later.
If You Are Deployed or Facing a Hearing While Deployed
A deployed parent, on either side of the case, can pause the proceeding. Under 50 U.S.C. § 3932, the court must grant a stay of at least 90 days when a service member applies with two things: a letter explaining how military duties materially affect the ability to appear, and a letter from the commanding officer confirming unavailability and stating that leave is not authorized.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 50 – 3932 The protection covers service members currently serving and those within 90 days of separation. Additional stays are available if duty continues, and a court that denies an additional stay must appoint counsel for the absent service member. Applying for a stay is not an appearance and does not waive defenses, which keeps a default judgment off the table while you are overseas.
If You Are the Parent Receiving Support
AB 2165 narrows the income definition; it does not end child support. How much the number moves depends on the mix of the other parent’s income. A military parent with substantial taxable retirement or employment income may see only a modest reduction. A parent whose income is mostly VA disability may see a steep one.
You have the right to contest the proposed modified amount. The guideline number is presumptively correct, but California courts can depart from it when applying the formula would be unjust under the circumstances. Evidence about the children’s needs, the actual standard of living, and other income or assets the military parent has can support a request to deviate.
Until a judge signs a modified order and that order reaches DFAS, nothing about your current garnishment changes. You are entitled to every dollar at the current amount until the paperwork is complete.