Child support payments are calculated based on each parent’s income, earning ability, and the amount of custodial time each parent has. For information regarding your parenting rights and child custody plan, contact a skilled Suffolk County child support lawyer today.
What Types of Custody Exist?
When a couple with shared children decides to divorce, they must determine a custody arrangement that works for them. There are a few types of custody that can be agreed upon.
- Legal
- Physical
- Sole
- Joint
Legal custody is a parent’s right to make significant decisions regarding the child’s well-being and development. This may include choices about their education, medical treatments, religion, and more. A parent with sole legal custody is the only one with the ability to make these decisions, and what they say goes. Parents with joint legal custody must work together to make decisions as both of them are legally entitled to contribute to these issues.
Physical custody refers to with whom the child lives and where. If a parent is awarded sole physical custody then the child will reside with them permanently though they may have visiting time with the other parent. When parents have joint physical custody the child alternates living with either parent depending on a prearranged schedule.
How Does Custodial Time Contribute to Child Support Calculations?
Custodial time is important to child support because it determines which parent will have to pay and how much. The noncustodial parent (the parent who does not spend more than 50% of the time with the child) will pay child support to the custodial parent. However, the more time that the noncustodial parent spends with the child, generally, the less they will have to pay. This is based on the idea that during the time they spend with the child, they are spending money to feed and clothe the child, among other things.
If one parent only sees the child for a cumulative 2 weeks of the year, they are going to pay a significant amount of child support to cover some of the costs of raising the child for the remaining 50 weeks.
However, if both parents have custody of the child for 26 weeks in the year, the amount of child support will be much less. The higher-earning parent will still generally contribute child support because the lower-earning parent may require additional help to fund the child’s needs.
If Custody is 50/50 Do You Still Have to Pay Child Support?
Although courts in New York strive to implement equal custody between parents, an exact 50/50 split is unlikely. Depending on each family’s situation it may be difficult or impossible for both parents to have the child for the same amount of days per year. Even with shared custody the higher-earning parent will likely pay child support to the lower-earning parent.
The only time that no child support plan is needed is when both parents have exactly 50/50 shared custody and make the same income. For this reason, it is rare that child support is not exchanged. Contact a skilled family lawyer to discuss your parenting rights and custody options.
