California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from County of Yolo v. Francis, 179 Cal.App.3d 647, 224 Cal.Rptr. 585 (Cal. App. 1986):
A third reason for our conclusion is found in section 11476.1. That statute, inter alia, allows the district attorney to enter into agreements for entry of judgment with noncustodial parents for child support where the district attorney has undertaken enforcement of support. Subdivision (g) of section 11476.1 provides, "For the purposes of this section, in making a determination of the noncustodial parent's reasonable ability to pay, any relevant circumstances set out in section 246 of the Civil Code shall be considered." Since, as we have seen, subdivision (a) of Civil Code section 246 requires the court to consider earning capacity, that factor is appropriately considered under section 11476.1. It would be anomalous to allow earning capacity to be considered where judgment is entered by agreement but not where [179 Cal.App.3d 654] judgment is entered following trial. Statutes relating to the same subject matter are to be construed together and harmonized if possible. (County of Placer v. Aetna Cas. etc. Co. (1958) 50 Cal.2d 182, 188-189, 323 P.2d 182.)
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