California family law continues to evolve through legislation, case law, and administrative changes. Several questions about what is new or different in 2026 come up regularly — including changes to child support tax treatment, the legal status of adultery, and how custody calendars are structured for the current year. This page addresses those questions directly.
2026 Child Support Tax Law — What Has Changed
The 2026 child support tax law follows the framework established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which eliminated the prior deduction for alimony payments and the corresponding income inclusion for alimony recipients for agreements entered on or after January 1, 2019. Child support itself has never been deductible by the paying parent or taxable to the receiving parent — that rule has not changed. For 2026 child support calculations, the tax treatment of child support remains neutral: it is neither a deduction nor income for federal or California state tax purposes.
What does affect child support calculations under 2026 law is each parent's net disposable income, which is calculated after taxes. Changes to federal or state tax rates, changes in a parent's filing status after divorce, and changes in available deductions all affect the DissoMaster guideline calculation that California courts use. An attorney can run an updated DissoMaster calculation reflecting your current 2026 tax situation to determine whether a modification of an existing order is warranted.
Is Cheating Illegal in California in 2026?
Is cheating illegal in 2026 under California law? No. The question of whether 2026 cheating illegal means anything under California law is straightforward: California eliminated criminal adultery statutes decades ago and is a no-fault divorce state. Under Family Code section 2310, the only ground required for divorce is irreconcilable differences — neither spouse needs to prove fault, and adultery is not a crime under California law in 2026 or any recent year.
Does 2026 law about cheating affect divorce outcomes? Adultery does not affect property division in California, which follows strict community property rules regardless of marital misconduct. In limited circumstances, adultery can affect spousal support if the supported spouse's relationship with a new partner constitutes cohabitation that reduces their need for support under Family Code section 4323. But adultery itself — even proven — is not grounds for reducing or eliminating a support award in California.
2026 Child Custody Calendar
A 2026 child custody calendar is a year-specific parenting schedule document that maps out which parent has the child on each day of the calendar year, including holidays, school breaks, and special occasions. Many parenting plans reference a "custody calendar" to provide clarity beyond the general schedule structure. For 2026, families using alternating holiday schedules need to confirm which parent has specific holidays under their existing order — odd years vs even years, for example — and update their shared calendar accordingly.
California family courts encourage parents to maintain a shared digital custody calendar that both parties can access and that creates a contemporaneous record of the parenting schedule as actually implemented. This record can be important evidence in modification proceedings or contempt actions. Apps such as OurFamilyWizard and TalkingParents provide calendar features that also timestamp communications.
Furubotten Law, APC represents clients in child support modification proceedings, post-judgment support disputes, and custody calendar disputes throughout Orange County and Riverside County. Call (714) 795-3862 for a complimentary case evaluation.