Of the many apps in the West/Thomson Reuters oeuvre, there exists the CFLR DissoMaster. What does this app do? Co-produced by CFLR and the Rutter Group, this app’s sole purpose is to calculate child support in California. Yes, child support strictly in California.

Child support calculation in California follows a statewide, uniform equation that starts at Family Code section 4050. The equation, of course, is extremely complex and contains a slew of criteria; programming software to automate this is reasonable enough. And notably, the iPad-based CFLR DissoMaster isn’t the only software designed to satisfy this niche. There are more robust, desktop-centered products. CFLR features its own desktop-based DissoMaster Suite ($540) to face off against the competition’s Xspouse ($299).

Again, the CFLR DissoMaster is iPad-based, and is not available on the iPhone. Users are led through a questionnaire, where they divulge income-related data on a line-by-line basis; robust help, including statute-info, caselaw, and Rutter edited content is available for each line. The completed report can be e-mailed or printed.

Presumably divorce/Family Law is big business in California—how big is a little hard to say. The National Center for Health Statistics compiles and reports on state divorce rates; though, since 2009, California is one of a handful of nonreporting states. The state had 232,719 divorces in 2008, 237,059 divorces in 2007, and 238,011 divorces in 2006.  Judging by the existence of this app, business must be good.