How does the child support calculator work?

The calculator starts by asking for the specific details it needs to run an accurate child support calculation. Rather than a static form, Chatref’s custom-actions capability guides the user through a conversational flow. The AI agent asks about each parent’s income, the number of children, parenting time percentages, and any extraordinary expenses. Custom actions can even pull data from external tools your firm already uses, pre-filling fields where possible and catching incomplete entries before moving forward.

A child support calculator is only as reliable as the law it applies. Chatref’s knowledge-base is trained exclusively on your uploaded content - PDFs of state statutes, local court rules, your firm’s internal worksheets, and attorney-authored calculator guides. Because the AI agent never searches the open internet and never guesses, every step of the support calculation stays anchored in the documents that actually govern your clients’ cases. When a user asks why a certain figure appears, the agent can point to the exact source material it used.

Once all inputs are gathered, the AI agent runs the numbers using the formulas stored in your knowledge-base. Unlike a generic online estimator, it doesn’t just spit out a lump sum. It breaks the support calculation down into components - base support, add-ons for health insurance or child care, and any deviation factors your jurisdiction allows. The agent can explain each element in plain language, turning a complex family law tool into a clear, step-by-step explanation your clients actually understand.

Custom actions don’t stop at input collection. After the calculation, the agent can offer to email the full breakdown to the client, flag the results for a follow-up attorney review, or even schedule a consultation. All of this happens inside the same chat widget embedded on your site, with every message stored in your Chatref inbox for oversight. The combination of ai-agents, custom-actions, and a knowledge-base turns a static worksheet into an interactive family law tool that works around the clock.

How accurate is the child support calculator?
Accuracy depends entirely on the quality of the documents uploaded to your knowledge-base. As long as the statutes, formulas, and guidelines are current and correctly entered, the AI agent produces results that are mathematically consistent with those sources. It never injects outside data or makes assumptions. We recommend regular reviews of your uploaded materials to match any legislative updates in your jurisdiction.

Can I save my calculation results?
Yes. The calculator can be configured through custom actions to deliver a summary to the user’s email, and all chat transcripts - including the full calculation breakdown - remain accessible in your Chatref conversation inbox. That gives both the firm and the client a permanent record without requiring manual data entry.

Who can access the calculator?
Access is determined by where you place the Chatref widget. You can embed it on public pages for prospective clients, restrict it to a client-only portal, or even deploy it on a private intranet for staff use. Because all features are included on every account, you have full flexibility over who sees the calculator without per-seat fees or feature gates.