How the French family court judge sets child support
The table gives a starting point; the judge looks at two homes and a child.
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The French family court judge (juge aux affaires familiales, JAF) does not apply the reference table mechanically: support is set according to both parents’ resources, the custody arrangement and the child’s needs (age, health, disability, schooling). The table gives an order of magnitude based only on the paying parent’s income; the rest of the file explains why the judge departs from it, or not. Three things weigh most. What the paying parent has left once support and housing are paid: the table’s subsistence amount (€652) ignores rent. The child’s real needs, documented with invoices. And how costs are shared: a parent who pays school meals or activities directly may see support reduced accordingly. On €1,900 with two children and €650 of rent, the table would leave the paying parent €963. Hearings are in French; preparation in figures helps everyone. The calculator works out what is left.
The remaining income the judge looks at
Left after support and housing
€963
| Table support | €287 |
| Share of income paid | 15.1 % |
| Compared with single-person RSA | above |
What the judge examines, and where the information comes from
| Criterion | Useful evidence | Possible effect |
|---|---|---|
| Paying parent’s resources | tax notice, payslips, France Travail statement | basis of the table |
| Receiving parent’s resources | tax notice, CAF statement | balance between homes |
| Paying parent’s costs | lease, rent receipts, loan schedule | reduction if little is left |
| Child’s needs | health, school, childcare, activity invoices | increase, or costs shared separately |
| Actual custody | calendar, witness statements | choice of table column |
What is left to live on: the central criterion
The table protects the paying parent with a subsistence amount equal to the single-person RSA. But a parent paying €650 rent does not, at the same income, have the same capacity as a parent housed for free. The judge therefore compares what each has left once fixed costs are paid. The table below shows, for two children with standard visiting, the share of income taken by table support and what remains after €650 of rent.
| Net income | Support (table) | Share of income | Left after support and rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| €1,400 | €172 | 12 % | €578 |
| €1,700 | €241 | 14 % | €809 |
| €2,000 | €310 | 16 % | €1,040 |
| €2,500 | €425 | 17 % | €1,425 |
| €3,000 | €540 | 18 % | €1,810 |
| €4,000 | €770 | 19 % | €2,580 |
On €1,400 of income, what remains after support and rent falls below the single-person RSA (€651.69): a typical case where a judge may set less than the table if costs are documented.
Why two decisions can differ at the same income
Two parents earning the same can be ordered to pay very different amounts: one pays rent in an expensive city, the other owns their home outright; one child has heavy health costs, the other does not; one parent pays school meals and activities directly. The table sees none of this. That is exactly what the judge adds, and what each parent must show. Extra costs helps put figures on the child’s costs outside support, and new partner explains how shared household costs are taken into account.
The child’s needs, documented
Needs are where parents most often under-prepare. A list of regular costs with invoices (childcare, school meals, transport pass, activities, health costs left to pay) and of foreseeable ones (orthodontics, a school trip, the cost of studies) gives the judge something concrete to set against the table. Needs that grow as the child gets older are a frequent reason for the judge to go above the table for a teenager, or for the parents to agree on extra costs shared separately.
Preparing the hearing on one page
A simple table, each parent’s income and costs in one column, the child’s expenses in another, with the table amounts for the three visiting columns, lets the judge see in a minute where the disagreement lies. Every figure should point to a document. The calculator gives the table amounts, the tax effect and any ASF, to copy into that summary. For parents more at ease in English, preparing this summary in advance, then translating its headings, makes a French hearing far easier to follow, and lets you check quickly that every figure the other side puts forward matches a document.