Why Do You Pay Child Support on Joint Custody?
A court may order a parent to pay child support, despite a joint custody award. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), "Courts reason that major expenses for the benefit of the child--rent, mortgage, utilities, clothes and insurance have to be paid, whether the child is with the custodial parent or not." However, joint custody and child support payments are completely dependent on state laws.
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Custody
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Joint legal custody permits both parents to make major life decisions for a child such as a choice of school and religious activities, while joint physical custody refers to where a child will reside on a daily basis. Joint legal custody typically assigns one parent custodial rights and the other parent visitation rights. In a joint legal custody arrangement, the non-custodial parent usually pays child support to the custodial parent. However, the ABA points out, "If the parents have joint physical custody with the child spending a substantial amount of time with each of parent, and if the parents have approximately equal incomes, it is possible neither parent will have to pay support to the other."
Income
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A parent's income may determine whether a court will impose a child support order for parents sharing custody. The ABA states that the court will consider large inequities in parental income, and if it finds that a lower-earning custodial parent's household would "greatly suffer without the child support," it may order the higher-earning parent to make support payments. The amount, however, "probably will be less than the [child support] guideline amount" if the parents have roughly the same amount of custody of their child.
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Distribution of Time
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In some states, child support payments in joint custody cases are based on the distribution of time the child spends with each parent, reports LaborofLove.com. For example, if one parent has the child 40 percent of the time and the other parent has a child 60 percent of time, it's possible that the parent who spends slightly less time with the child will have to pay child support to the other parent.
Parental Agreements
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Parents may make agreements with each other, as to how the child's expenses will be met when a child is with the other parent. If the parents agree that child support payments will not be made when the child is with the other parent, then a court of law usually will honor the arrangement. However, according to the Epoq Legal Solutions, it's best to get child support modification agreements in writing, as oral agreements are often not honored.
Multiple Children
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Some parents may have multiple children and one or two might live with each parent. The question arises as to whether both parents need to pay child support. According to Brette Sember, book author and former attorney writing for WomansDivorce.com, parents will have an obligation to support the children that live with them and those that don't. However, the parent caring for more children for more time usually has less of a financial obligation than the parent who is spending less time with fewer children.
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References
- Photo Credit Child image by Serenitie from Fotolia.com
