Stewart

Robert L. Stewart (plaintiff) has appealed from a judgment ordering him to pay child support in a total amount of $190 per month for his three minor children. Plaintiff contends that the trial court improperly considered as gross income, pursuant to section 4058 of the Family Code: (1) his earning capacity and his disability benefits, rather than his earning capacity or his disability benefits; (2) his rent-free housing on an Indian reservation, and (3) his meal allowance during the period he attended a vocational training program. In our view, for the reasons stated below, the trial court properly considered the foregoing items as gross income under section 4058. We shall affirm the judgment accordingly.

Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiff and Maria H. Gomez (defendant) have three daughters (the children). In September 1992, following, apparently, defendant’s complaint to establish that plaintiff was the father of the children, an order was entered awarding plaintiff and defendant joint legal custody and shared physical custody of the children. On November 15, 1993, while the children, aged about eight, nine, and eleven, were living with defendant during the…