Joint Custody Child Support

Do I Need to Pay Child Support if I Have Joint Custody of My Child?

It depends on what kind of joint custody you are speaking about. Legal custody relates to decision-making authority and has nothing to do with child support. Joint physical custody is in fact an unclear term and exactly what matters is how time is divided. In a lot of joint physical custody scenarios, the child's time is divided between the moms and dads in a way that implies one mom and dad has more time than the other with the child. With this kind of joint custody, child support is payable. If this is a true 50/50 time share, child support is often still bought to be paid by the parent with more cash to the one with less, but there are certainly cases in which none is purchased.

Legal Custody

Legal custody is when a mom and dad can make significant choices about the child's life. Joint legal custody gives both parents the right to make decisions jointly for the child. For instance, moms and dads with joint legal custody need to make joint decisions concerning the child's health, education and religion. Both parents normally have equivalent access to the child's academic and health records. Joint legal custody does not impact child support.

Physical Custody

Physical custody refer to with whom the child will live. If one mom and dad has full physical custody, the other moms and dad might have visitation benefits. Visitation might be described as "sensible" or "structured" in lots of jurisdictions. Sensible visitation implies that there is not an established schedule for visitation. Rather, it undergoes the contract of the moms and dads. Structured visitation occurs on a regular schedule, such as particular vacations, weekends and summertime visitations. Joint physical custody also includes a schedule of when the child will be with each mom and dad. The child generally lives with both parents at various periods. While some moms and dads might have joint custody, they might not have the child the specific same amount of time as the other parent. In some cases, moms and dads have both joint legal and physical custody. In others, they may just have joint legal custody.

Joint Custody Child Support Calculator

Child support is a series of regular payments that a mom and dad pays in order to economically support and care for his or her child. In cases where one parent has full custody of the child, the other moms and dad is usually bought to pay child support to the custodial moms and dad. The amount of child support that is awarded is typically based upon a particular formula that is appointed by a state statute. In joint custody cases, the parent with the greater earnings may be purchased to pay child support to the parent with lower income. The quantity of child support that a celebration should pay depends on the state law where the child support order is released. Utilize a Utah Joint Custody Child Support Calculator here.