Methodology

The regular monthly model

Each phase has its own monthly support amount, payment count, and annual discount rate. Phases run consecutively. Each payment is discounted at its phase’s rate for the full number of months from the common valuation date, then summed. The discount clock does not restart when a new phase begins. The model uses equal monthly periods, rather than actual day counts. The valuation date anchors displayed due dates; changing that date alone does not change the value of an otherwise identical stream.

Individual payment adjustments in Expert

Individual payment replacements apply after annual escalation and remain fixed in dollars. They replace one installment only. Present values use the effective payments. Amount sensitivity varies ordinary phase amounts while replacements stay fixed. Duration trials exclude adjustments outside the trial term and never repeat one-time adjustments. Dates remain regular monthly anniversaries; arbitrary dates and arrears are not modeled.

Each replacement is attached to an installment within a phase. Its explanation, source reference, and effect on nominal payments and present value appear in the report, including executive summaries. Changing the valuation date or an earlier phase can move its displayed date and requires review. A shorter hypothetical term excludes later adjustments; changing the actual schedule requires you to resolve affected records.

For a partial buyout, each modeled payment equals retained support plus released support. Retained replacements are entered separately and cannot exceed the modeled payment. Zero represents no modeled cash flow for that installment; it does not record payment received, forgiveness, or arrears. A replacement is applied after annual escalation and does not change the following installment.

Changing rates

Sensitivity shifts every phase’s annual rate by the same number of percentage points while holding other inputs fixed. Shifts outside the supported 0%–50% range are omitted. Older saved scenarios and assumptions files keep their original values by applying their shared rate to every phase.

What the number means

The gross value assumes every entered payment is made. It does not estimate the probability of death, remarriage, modification, cohabitation, nonpayment, or investment outcomes. It does not determine a legally appropriate duration or terminate the court’s jurisdiction. A ten-year marriage does not automatically mean lifetime support; cohabitation does not automatically terminate it.

Arrears, irregular payment dates, property offsets, and the tax treatment of a proposed buyout are outside this model. Model alternative durations explicitly and compare scenarios. Do not count the same risk twice in both payments and the discount rate.

Optional tax illustration

Payer cost = gross PV × (1 − assumed tax benefit). Recipient receipt = gross PV × (1 − assumed tax burden). These user-entered percentages describe periodic support only. They exclude tax bracket changes, deduction limitations, interactions, recapture, and the separate treatment of a lump sum. They are not a settlement range.

Authority and further review

Sources reviewed September 15, 2026. Confirm the applicable law and instrument terms for the matter.

Additional provisions: Family Code § 4336 · Family Code § 4323. Displayed currency is rounded; calculations sum unrounded values.