Child support is
governed by state laws and varies depending on where you live. In all states,
one of the factors that will affect child support is the amount of time each
parent spends with the children. When parents spend equal or almost equal time
with their children, it is known as joint physical custody. But this does not
necessarily mean that parents who see their children equally will receive no
child support. The particular joint physical custody arrangement affects the
amount of child support.
Income Shares Model
The most common formula
for determining child support is called the income shares model. Under the
income shares formula, child support is based on a percentage of the combined
income of both parents. For example, if a mother earns $50,000 per year and a
father earns $100,000 per year, their combined income is $150,000. The mother's
percentage of the shared income is 33 percent and the father's percentage is
approximately 67 percent. If your state calculates child support by the
percentage of income model, the mother in this example would owe 33 percent of
the child's expenses and the father would owe 67 percent.
Percentage of Income
Model
Ten states and the
District of Columbia utilize the percentage of obligor's income model for
calculating child support. Under this theory, the court takes into
consideration only the income of the parent paying the child support. This
parent is called the obligor. Each state that uses this model requires the
obligor to pay child support equal to a certain percentage of his income. Some
states require a flat percentage of the income to be paid as child support
without consideration of shared parenting time while other states adjust the
percentage depending on how much time the obligor spends with his children.
Joint Physical Custody
Physical custody refers
to the number of overnights a child spends with each parent. For example, if
you see your child every day after school but return her to her mother's house
to sleep every night, you do not have any overnight parenting time. The
definition of joint physical custody varies by state. Because there are 365 days
in a year, a child that spends exactly equal time with each parent would spend
182 overnights in her mother's house and 182 overnights in her father's house
each year. However, most states define joint physical custody as any parenting
time arrangement where both parents have significant overnights with the child.
Significant means more than the common parenting time schedule of every other
weekend. For example, some states say that parents share joint physical custody
as long as one parent spends at least 123 or 128 overnights with the child per
year.
Joint Custody and
Income Shares Model
In states that utilize
the income shares model for child support, the court uses the number of
overnights that the child spends with each parent to calculate the amount of
support. The more overnights the obligor has with the child, the lower the
support obligation will be because expenses for the child's food, shelter,
utilities and clothing increase with the additional time spent with the parent
and he will be paying for these expenses directly while the child is in his
care.
Joint Custody and
Percentage of Income Model
Not all states that
utilize the percentage of income model take joint physical custody into
consideration when calculating the amount owed for child support. For example,
some states simply order child support to be paid as a certain percentage of
the parent's income irrespective of the number of overnights. Other states that
use this model will take the overnight parenting time into consideration and
lower the amount of the child support. For example, if the parent who owes
support has 104 overnights with the child, he might be required to pay child
support equal to 20 percent of his income, but if he has 180 overnights, he
might only be required to pay child support equal to 10 percent of his income.
by Angie Gambone,
Demand Media
Legalzoom
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