In most states, when both parents share joint physical custody, they are normally liable to pay a fair amount of the child’s expenses, including child support. Each parent’s share of child support is determined by various essential variables, including the number of days the child spends with each parent. The parent who makes more money will often pay a higher amount in child support. When assessing the amount of child support to be paid, the courts may also consider other factors, like child care expenses, health insurance, and other related children’s expenses.
What Happens When Both Parents Share Joint Custody?
You undoubtedly want to know who is liable for paying child support if your case involves joint physical custody. Usually, each parent still has to contribute their fair part of the support. Nevertheless, joint custody cases can be highly complex, and parents frequently misunderstand who has to pay for child support.
A joint legal custody agreement may be relevant in this situation. Its foundation is the idea of shared parenting, which calls for equal role and responsibility sharing between parents. Setting up a plan for child support payments is crucial when both parents share custody of a child or children.
The court will consider each parent’s income when calculating child support, so it might be challenging to figure out how much each of them should pay. The court will decide the ultimate child support amount according to state guidelines, parenting time, parent income, and other considerations if they are unable to come to an agreement.
What Factors Affect Child Support Amounts in Situations When Parents Share Joint Custody?
State-by-state variations exist in child support laws, although they all strive to ensure that children’s post-divorce quality of life matches that of children whose parents cohabitate. Both factors establish and compute the amount of child support owed.
Income Percentage Model
As the name implies, this model bases child support responsibilities on a parent’s monthly earnings as a percentage. While some states employ varied percentage rates according to the obligors’ income levels, others maintain a flat rate for all income levels.
Income Shares Model
This approach considers both the total monthly income of the parents and the number of children when calculating child support obligations. The court will use the proportionate contributions from each parent towards their total monthly income to determine how the obligation will be split between the parents.
Parenting Time
Time is one of the variables that influences child custody. Parenting time is a significant factor in determining the monthly child support payments in several states. The parenting time agreements or orders must specify how much time the child spends with the non-residential parent, if there is one.
Courts also use the number of overnights parents spend with their children. Parents can find out how many nights they have in a year using the parenting time calculator or worksheet on almost all court websites.
Should the child support obligations need to be adjusted, comparable care can also be relevant. It’s time spent with their parent(s) without staying the night. However, the parent must still pay roughly the same amount as they were covering an overnight stay’s expense.
Parents Income
What would happen if parents split their parenting time nearly equally and had roughly the same monthly income? Co-parents are typically excused from paying child support in this situation.
However, before agreeing to one, they must ensure that an efficient joint custody arrangement will serve their children’s best interests. However, most parents make varying amounts of money. It has an impact on the required child support payment amount.
Why Do I Still Have to Pay Child Support When I Have Shared Custody with My Children?
Combined gross income is used to compute child support and the amount of time each parent spends with the children. According to Nevada’s child support laws, parents must contribute to their child’s expenses beyond the minimum child support, even if they have their child for over 146 overnights yearly (this places them on Child Support Worksheet B). Furthermore, even in cases when there is shared physical custody, the court has the authority to order child support payments because overnights and income determine the amount.
Child support is determined by taking into account the combined income of both parents; as a result, the amount of assistance is determined by the number of overnights spent with the children and the wages of each parent.
How Is Child Support Calculated in Joint Custody Cases?
Unless your income exceeds the topmost limits of the standards, child support is computed using the approach advised by the child support guidelines. You could enter the wrong amount while calculating child support, even though the court gives you spreadsheets and a software program to help you with the process.
Our dedicated team at Huggins Law Office can help with this procedure. Our family law attorneys will assist you in completing the required financial documentation, calculating the child support obligation, and estimating any future child support you may be eligible for. We assist parents in Nevada with issues related to family law, including child support.
Does Shared Physical Custody Affect My Basic Child Support Payments?
Yes. A parent’s child support obligation decreases if they spend 146 or more nights with their child. Most child support pays for necessities like clothing, shelter, and food. Extra expenses that parents incur are typically split according to their income.
When a parent with shared physical custody visits the children over more than 146 nights a year, their basic child support payments change. The amount of child support parents must pay each month falls directly proportional to the amount of time they spend sleeping with their kids.
Huggins Law Office is available to help non-residential parents who want to recalculate child support because they spend more nights with their kids.
What Factors Does A Court Consider When Determining Who Pays Child Support in Shared Custody Cases?
When determining who has to pay support obligations in cases involving joint physical custody, the court takes into account several factors, such as:
- The gross monthly income and resources of each parent
- The child’s quality of life would have been higher had the parents remained together.
- The financial contribution each parent can make to their child’s life
However, if the child achieves financial independence, the parents might not be required to make support payments. The amount of child support the court determines is an obligation to be paid.
The non-custodial parent might not be legally required to pay child support if the parents share custody. One parent still needs to make a financial contribution even if they split custody of their kids.
The court may grant spousal support to a husband who provides for other children, like adopted children or stepchildren, throughout the period of time it takes for those children to reach adulthood.
Protect Your Parental Rights by Speaking With A Lawyer Regarding Joint Custody Child Support Obligations
Discover peace of mind and secure your parental rights with the dedicated professionals at Huggins Law Office. Our family law attorneys in the Las Vegas area have experience. They are here to guide you in understanding the complexities of joint custody and child support obligations in the jurisdiction.
We believe in fostering a solid attorney-client relationship, ensuring you receive personalized advice tailored to your unique situation. As a reputable law firm, we specialize in family law matters and have a proven track record of advocating for our clients’ best interests.
When protecting what matters most, trust us to stand by your side as your reliable family law attorney in Las Vegas Nevada. If you have questions or want more information, schedule a consultation by calling us at (702) 387-4014.