Request for Order re: Change of Child Support
1 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA 2 COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO 3 UNIFIED FAMILY COURT 4
5) 6 NICOLE ASHLEY SALVADOR,) Case Number: FDI-18-789787) 7 Petitioner) Hearing Date: July 21, 2026) 8 VS.) Hearing Time: 9:00 AM) 9 NICHOLAS EDWARD TORRES,) Department: 404) 10 Respondent) Presiding: AI MORI) 11) 12 REQUEST FOR ORDER RE: CHANGE OF CHILD SUPPORT 13 TENTATIVE RULING 14 Having read and considered the pleadings, declarations, and other evidence submitted in this matter, the 15 Court makes the following findings and orders: 16 A. Procedural History 17 1) Petitioner Nicole Salvador (Mother) and Respondent Nicholas Torres (Father) married on 18 5/29/2015 and separated on 3/1/2018, for a marriage of 2 years and 9 months.
The parties have 19 two minor children, Noah (DOB: 10/26/2008, age 17) and Elias (DOB: 7/1/2010, age 16). Mother 20 is currently represented by attorney Natalie Gomez. Father is currently represented by attorney 21 Andrew Wu. 22 2) On 9/12/2018, the Court entered a Stipulated Judgment. The Judgment requires Father to pay 23 Mother $0 (which the parties acknowledged in the Judgment is a below-guideline child support 24 order) and requires the parties to share equally all uninsured medical expenses of the children. 25 The Judgment also includes an agreement to terminate the Court’s jurisdiction to award spousal 26 support to either party.
The Judgment further provides that the parties will share joint legal and 27 joint physical custody of their children, and that the children will spend 50% of their time in each 28 parent’s care. The guideline child support calculation attached to the parties’ Judgment includes 29
1 income for Father of $4,458 per month and income for Mother of $8,170 per month, and shows a 2 guideline child support amount of $530 per month. 3 3) Now on for hearing is Father’s Request for Order filed 2/5/2026 seeking a guideline child support 4 order. Father states that he currently teaches two classes at San Francisco State University during 5 the 2025-2026 academic year, and also coaches high school track and field for Stuart Hall. Father 6 states he previously taught three classes during the 2024-2025 academic year, but lost a class at 7 SFSU during the second half of 2025.
Father also states that he used to teach classes at City 8 College of San Francisco, but he hasn’t done so since 2021 because his contract was not renewed. 9 Father states, “Teaching at SFSU and CCSF on a year-to-year contract basis (without tenure) has 10 proven to be an extremely difficult career path for me in recent years, so that’s why, in the 11 autumn of 2024, I matriculated as a doctoral student at the University of San Francisco..., with 12 studies focusing on the field of education, that I hope to complete by mid-year in 2028, which 13 will eventually lead to an Ed.D degree.
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After I finish my studies at USF, it’s my intention to 14 secure a more permanent and stable job in the teaching profession than the ones I now have.” 15 4) On 7/7/2026, Mother filed a Responsive Declaration and Memorandum of Points and Authorities. 16 Mother asks that the Court deny Father’s request for child support. In the alternative, if the Court 17 is inclined to award Father child support, Mother asks the Court to consider Father’s earning 18 capacity, make a downward deviation from guideline under Family Code sections 4056 and 19 4057(b), apply a hardship deduction to both parties, order that the parties share the children’s 20 uninsured medical expenses equally, and apportion any other add-on expenses equitably 21 (crediting those Mother “has paid without contribution” from Father).
Mother states that during 22 the eight years since entry of Judgment, the parties have resolved disagreements regarding 23 financial support and custody without litigation. Mother states the only change which has 24 occurred since entry of Judgment is Father’s decision to return to school to pursue a doctorate 25 degree which Father will not complete until mid-2028, which is after Noah will reach the age of 26 majority (he turns 18 in October 2026) and approximately the same time Elias will reach the age 27 of majority (he turns 18 in July 2028).
Mother states that the source of funding for Father’s tuition 28 remains unknown and is the subject of pending discovery. Mother argues that Father’s tuition 29 expense comes at a cost to the children, given Father’s admission that he has minimized his work
1 hours to attend classes. Mother attaches as Exhibit D to her Responsive Declaration copies of job 2 listings in the Bay Area Adjunct Faculty positions at Saint Mary’s College of California which 3 require “a terminal degree in Kinesiology or a closely related field and have a recent publication 4 record in the field, or a Master’s degree in Kinesiology or a closely related field and have at least 5 five years of current, relevant professional experience.” 6 5) On 7/7/2026, Mother filed an Income and Expense Declaration.
Mother states that she is 38 years 7 old and works as a senior legal analyst for the California Department of Justice. Mother states 8 that she works 40 hours per week and earns on average $6,770 per month. Mother has three 9 children, Noah and Elias with Father, and a one-year-old daughter Tahlia with her current spouse. 10 6) On 7/16/2026, Father filed a Reply Memorandum of Points and Authorities. Father states that the 11 job postings provided by Mother do not show that Father has an actual opportunity to obtain those 12 positions, that he would likely be hired, that the class schedules would be compatible with those 13 of his current employment and/or parenting responsibilities, or that the positions would produce 14 income materially greater than his combined earnings from his current part-time employment. 15 Rather, the postings indicate that a terminal degree, which is precisely what Father is currently 16 pursuing, is one pathway to meeting the qualifications for at least some of the open academic 17 positions in Father’s field.
The postings also indicate that graduate-level teaching effectiveness is 18 strongly preferred. However, Father’s teaching experience has only been at the undergraduate 19 level. Father also states that he should not be expected to leave existing employment within the 20 California State University system, where he has a vesting pension and nearly cost-free health 21 insurance benefits, for speculative temporary adjunct work requiring a significant commute that 22 offers no demonstrable long-term stability, comparable benefits, or a meaningful increase in 23 overall compensation.
Father also notes that imputation of income should be applied equitably 24 and fairly and that Mother has a history of earning more than what she currently earns. Father 25 further notes that Family Code section 4053 codifies that a parent’s first and principal obligation 26 is to support their minor children according to the parent’s circumstances and station in life. 27 Father notes that Noah and Elias have already benefitted from his employment with Stuart Hall 28 by way of significant tuition assistance and scholarship access due to his employment with Stuart 29 Hall.
Father also states that his pursuit of a doctorate degree has had no material effect on, and is
1 not the cause of the reduction in, his historical income. Father further notes that he has a duty to 2 support all of his minor children, including his third child Evren (DOB: 5/9/2024) with his current 3 spouse. Father also states that his mother is currently paying for his tuition. 4 7) On 7/16/2026, Father filed two Income and Expense Declarations, one showing his income from 5 San Francisco State University, for which he works 17 hours per week and earns $2,600 per 6 month, and the other showing his income from Stuart Hall.
Father’s Stuart Hall paystubs show 7 that he worked a total of 240.5 hours between 2/18/2026 and 5/12/2026, which averages out to 20 8 hours per week, and earned $10,240 in year-to-date income as of 5/12/2026, which averages 9 approximately $2,360 per month. Father states that he is 38 years old and has a B.S. as well as a 10 Masters in Kinesiology. 11 B. Findings and Order 12 1) Family Code section 4065(d) states: “If the parties to a stipulated agreement stipulate to a child 13 support order below the amount established by the statewide uniform guideline, no change of 14 circumstances need be demonstrated to obtain a modification of the child support order to the 15 applicable guideline level or above.”
The Stipulated Judgment includes a below-guideline child 16 support order of $0. The Court finds that Father does not need to show a change in circumstances 17 to obtain a modification of child support to the applicable guideline level or above. 18 2) Father states that he is currently working 17 hours per week for San Francisco State University 19 and his paystubs from Stuart Hall show that he is working on average 20 hours per week for 20 Stuart Hall, which means that Father is working approximately 37 hours per week, essentially a 21 full-time work schedule.
The Court does not find that Mother has met her burden to prove that 22 Father has the ability or opportunity to earn more than he is currently earning. The Court further 23 notes that Father currently earns approximately $4,960 per month, which exceeds the $4,458 24 monthly income attributed to him in the 2018 guideline calculation attached to the Judgment. 25 Mother, on the other hand, reports earning less than the income attributed to her in that same 26 calculation. If the Court were inclined to impute income to Father, it would likewise need to 27 consider whether income should also be imputed to Mother.
However, Father has not established 28 that Mother currently has the ability and opportunity to earn more than she presently earns. 29 Accordingly, Mother's request to impute income to Father is denied.
1 3) The Court does not find that Mother has established good cause under Family Code sections 4056 2 and 4057 to rebut the presumptively correct guideline child support amount. 3 4) Effective 2/5/2026 (the date Father filed his Request for Order), in accordance with the XSpouse 4 calculation attached hereto and incorporated herein, Mother shall pay Father guideline child 5 support of $562 per month. One-half shall be due and payable by the 1st and one-half shall be due 6 and payable by the 15th of each month. 7 5) Child support for July 2026 shall be paid in full no later than Friday, 7/24/2026 at 5:00 PM. 8 6) The Court finds that Mother owes Father child support arrears of $462 for the period 2/5/2026 – 9 2/28/2026 and $2,248 for the period 3/1/2026 – 6/30/2026, for total arrears due and owing of 10 $2,710 for the period 2/5/2026 – 6/30/2026.
Effective 8/15/2026, Mother shall pay Father an 11 additional $451.67 by the 15th of each month for 6 months to satisfy this arrears balance. 12 7) The Court does not find good cause to modify the current order requiring the parties to share the 13 uninsured healthcare expenses of the children equally. 14 8) Father’s attorney shall prepare the Findings and Order After Hearing. 15 9) Preparation of Order: If you are directed by the court to prepare the order after hearing – within 16 10 calendar days of the hearing you must either: (a) Serve the proposed order to the other 17 party/counsel for approval, and follow the procedures set forth in CA Rules of Court, Rule 18 5.125(c), or (b) If the other party did not appear or the matter was uncontested, submit the 19 proposed order after hearing directly to the court.
Failure to submit the order after hearing within 20 10 days may allow the other party to prepare a proposed order and submit it to the court in 21 accordance with CA Rules of Court, Rule 5.125(d). 22
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salvador v. torres xspouse.xsp Xspouse 2026-1-CA
Fixed Shares Father Mother Monthly figures Cash Flow #of children 0 2 2026 Guideline Proposed % time with NCP 49.99 % 0.00 % Comb. net spendable 8760 8807 Filing status <-MFS MFJ-> GUIDELINE Percent change 0% 1% # exemptions 2 5 * Nets(adjusted) Father Wages+salary 4960 6770 Father 3442 Payment cost/benefit 562 746 Self-employed income 0 0 Mother 5318 Net spendable income 4004 4188 Other taxable income 0 0 Total 8760 Change from guideline 0 184 TANF+CS received 0 0 Support Other nontaxble income 0 0 Addons % of combined spendable 46% 48% 0 New spouse income 0 0 Guideln CS % of saving over guideline 0% 390% 562 401(k) employee contrib 0 271 Total taxes 887 463 S.Clara SS 0 Adjustments to income 0 0 Dep. exemption value 0 0 Total 562 SS paid prev marriage 0 0 # withholding allowances 0 0 - CS paid prev marriage 0 0 Settings changed Net wage paycheck 3775 3775 Health insurance 107 68 Mother Other medical expense 0 0 Payment cost/benefit -562 -699 Property tax expense 0 0 Net spendable income 4756 4619 Ded interest expense 0 0 Proposed Change from guideline 0 -137 Charitable contributions 0 0 Tactic 9 % of combined spendable 54% 52% Misc tax deductions 0 0 CS 322 Qual bus income ded 0 0 SS % of saving over guideline 0% -290% 0 Required union dues 35 35 Total Total taxes 536 913 322 Mandatory retirement 208 532 Dep. exemption value 0 0 Hardship deduction 281 * 281 * Saving 47 # withholding allowances 0 0 Other GDL deductions 0 0 Releases 2 Net wage paycheck 5104 5104 Child care expenses 0 0 Released to Father
Mother pays Guideline CS, Proposed CS
FC 4055 checking: ON Per Child Information Timeshare cce(F) cce(M) Addons Payor Basic CS Payor Pres CS Payor All children 49 - 51 0 0 0 Father 562 Mother 562 Mother
Noah 49 - 51 0 0 0 Father 219 Mother 219 Mother Elias 49 - 51 0 0 0 Father 344 Mother 344 Mother
Time: 00:03:19 Superior Court of California Date: 07/20/26 County of San Francisco