Most courts agree that a child benefits from a strong relationship with both parents after a divorce. For this reason, there is a growing trend of 50/50 custody agreements. So how does this affect child support?
Most states, Texas included, do not have very clear guidelines as to how child support works with 50/50 custody. This means that the courts have a large range of options for setting child support in these cases.
Sometimes, the court will make one party pay regular child support as if the other party has sole physical custody. While this may seem unfair, there are a number of reasons why a judge may choose this agreement. If one parent makes or has a lot more money than the other, the judge may think this is appropriate. A judge may also do this punitively if a parent refuses to get a job or accepting a job that is available to them to avoid paying child support. Other times, a child’s special needs or one parent’s financial investment to the child may also encourage this arrangement.
Most often, a judge will issue offset child support. This means that the judge will take what each party would pay in child support if the other party had full custody and use the difference to set the child support.
Finally, in some cases, a judge will decide that neither party should have to pay child support.
Remember that your child support agreement isn’t permanent. If you have questions about your child support agreement in Round Rock, TX, call your local family and divorce attorney at Jackson Law Firm.
For more information on Child Custody, please visit our website.
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