Family Law Cost Hub
Divorce and separation costs are hard to pin down because every state — and every country — uses a different formula. This site shows the formula, the cap, and a worked example for each jurisdiction, so you can see how a figure is reached, not just a number.
What this site does
- Child support calculators for Texas, California, New York and the UK — working calculators with the real guideline formula.
- Guide pages for Illinois, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — where a full calculator would need a schedule table or a computed allowance we do not publish as a flat figure, we show the method and a checked worked example instead of a fake precise number.
- Alimony tools — true guideline calculators for Illinois, New York and Colorado, and ceiling/factor checkers (never fake awards) for Texas, Massachusetts and Florida.
- Divorce cost pages — verified filing fees plus total-cost ranges clearly labelled as industry estimates, not official statistics.
How estimates work here
1. Enter the incomes the formula actually uses (Texas uses net resources; California uses net disposable income; New York uses combined income; the UK uses gross weekly income). 2. The calculator applies the percentage, formula or ceiling exactly as written in the guide below it. 3. Read the deviation factors — courts regularly depart from the guideline for proven needs, special expenses, or a child's best interests.
Child support
Texas
Percentage of obligor's net resources; $11,700/month cap from 1 Sept 2025; low-income rates under $1,000.
California
Statewide formula CS = K[HN − (H%)(TN)], with the Sept 2024 K-table and multi-child multipliers.
New York
CSSA percentages of combined income; $193,000 cap from 1 Mar 2026; support to age 21.
Illinois (guide)
Income-shares schedule (2025 values); 146-night shared-care rule now, 110 nights from 1 Jan 2027.
UK — CMS
Paying-parent percentages of gross weekly income; £3,000/week cap (2012 scheme); nights-band reductions; £39 default.
Canada (guide)
Federal tables (2025, from 1 Oct 2025); Ontario example; Quebec uses its own model.
Australia & New Zealand (guide)
Income-shares formulas with different care-cost tables — never interchanged.
Alimony / spousal support
Illinois — guideline calculator
33⅓% of payor net minus 25% of payee net, 40% combined cap, duration multipliers.
New York — lower-of calculator
Lower-of test with and without child support; $241,000 cap; $21,546 reserve.
Colorado — advisory calculator
40% of combined AGI minus lower earner, 80%/75% tax adjustment; $240,000/year limit.
Texas — ceiling checker
Lesser of $5,000/month or 20% of gross income; amount set on factors only.
Massachusetts — ceiling checker
30–35% of the gross-income difference is a ceiling, not an award.
Florida — ceiling checker
Durational cap: lesser of need or 35% of the net-income difference; permanent alimony abolished for petitions from 1 July 2023.
Divorce costs
California
$435 base filing fee; joint petition $870; cost ranges by route.
Texas
No statewide fee — county fees typically $250–$400.
Florida
$408–$409 by county.
New York
$335 minimum court fees ($210 index number + $125 Note of Issue).
All pages carry “Last verified: October 2026” and link to the official sources they rely on. Where a figure could not be verified from an official source, this site does not publish it — it says so instead.