Child Custody and Support Law FAQs

Child custody includes the physical and legal responsibilities of parenting. The court decides both components, as well as whether one parent should have sole custody of the children, or whether the parents should share jointly in custody of the children. The presumption is that it is best for the child to continue frequent contact with both parents following the divorce or legal separation.

Physical custody refers to where the child lives, spending time solely with one parent or splitting time between two parents. Often, if one parent has sole physical custody rights, the other parent receives visitation rights. Legal custody includes the right to make decisions that affect the child, such as educational decisions, religious decisions, and medical treatment decisions. Typically, both parents are awarded legal custody, such that they share in the decisions that affect the daily life of the child.

The best interests of the child guide the court's decision concerning custody arrangements. Factors include the parents' physical and mental health, their ability to provide for the child's basic needs, and their lifestyle. The court also looks at the emotional and educational needs of the child. Many times, the court considers the child's custody preference.

Since the child's best interests dictate custody determinations, a parent seeking custody should seek to provide a stable, caring home, anticipating the needs of the child on an emotional, educational, and overall level. Mistreating the child, or abusing drugs or alcohol, may affect the court's decision to grant the other parent custody. However, the court may award sole physical custody to one parent while allowing the other parent substantial visitation rights as well as legal custody, thereby sharing the parenting of the child.

Often, there are travel restrictions placed on divorced parents who have custody of their children. In some cases, the final judgment in your divorce proceeding may forbid you to take the child outside a certain geographical distance from where you were living when you divorced. However, either parent may ask the court to relocate with the child after a final judgment is entered if it would be in the child's best interests.

Visitation is part of a parenting plan, and if the two parents can agree on a plan that includes a visitation schedule, they may submit it to the court for approval. Providing that it is reasonable and reflects the court's understanding of the parenting arrangement, it will be approved and become an enforceable court order. Under these circumstances, the two parents have great sway over the arrangement.

The details of a visitation and parenting plan must include emergency situations, holidays, and school vacation schedules. The agreement may include a provision stating that as long as changes are written and approved by both parents, they are to be enforced.

For noncustodial parents, courts often order reasonable visitation. This means that the parents can decide the time and place of visitation, according to their schedules. This approach requires that parents cooperate, and if this schedule does not work, the alternative is a fixed schedule set by the court. The advantage to a fixed schedule is that the child experiences a predictable schedule.

A former spouse may be held in contempt of court if he or she does not follow the court's visitation or custody orders.

Some states do not have laws enacted to specifically address military service and child custody and visitation rights. Others have enacted laws that protect parents while deployed, so that they are not penalized for their military service, and so that they can regain custody upon their return.

The difficulties faced by parents who temporarily give up custody of children or forgo visitation because of military service are considerable, and it is important to remember that custody orders are never permanent. If a substantial change in circumstances occurs, such as a deployment for a year or longer to an overseas location, you can work with the court to modify an order.

If you anticipate changes to your custody and visitation rights, you may want to consider including a provision in your parenting agreement relating to your potential relocation.

Typically, if parentage has not been established, parents can ask for a paternity test to find out if the person assumed to be the father of the child is in fact the child's biological father. However, if there is already a court order in place that says, for example, someone is the child's father, it may be too late to ask for a paternity test. The law, alternatively, may declare someone the legal father, even if genetic tests say that he is not the biological father.

In most states, a parent can file an action asking for a determination of paternity. If either parent orders genetic testing, the court will use the results in its paternity determination. The paternity test will show if the man is the biological father of the child. The establishment of paternity affects child support and custody issues.

Legally, your child does not have a right to decide which parent to live with. The court may, if your child is of an appropriate age, consider the child's preference in physical custody arrangements. Many states do not impose a specific age at which the court must consider the child's wishes. Often, even young children bonded to one parent can express a desire to live with that parent.

Generally, if you and your ex agree on your child's preferences, most likely they can be implemented. If there is not an agreement, it becomes more complicated. Ultimately, the judge decides who is going to get the kids. Even in circumstances in which the judge is required by state law to consider the child's wishes, this does not mean that the judge must grant the child's preference.

Generally, the relationship between stepparent and stepchild does not provide rights or impose duties. Some stepparents legally adopt their stepchildren and are treated as biological parents under the law. But generally there is a lack of legal recognition of the stepparent's rights, especially concerning custody and visitation. This is because a child can only have two legal parents. Stepparent adoption is one method of ensuring rights, and it can sometimes be complicated if one of the birth parents refuses to consent to the adoption.

Some states have enacted specific laws dealing with the duty of a stepparent's support obligations to a child during a marriage. Other states hold the stepparent accountable, and if the stepparent has voluntarily treated the stepchild as a member of the family, they may be obligated to maintain and support the child.

Child support is the amount of money that a parent pays monthly to cover costs of support for the child and the child's living expenses. Parents may agree on child support, and if not, the judge will decide the child support based on a guidelines calculation. Different states use different guideline models.

A federal law, the Child Support Enforcement Act, mandates that each state maintain their own guidelines to calculate child support, based on parents' incomes and expenses. Guidelines vary between states, as does the ability of the judge to veer from the guidelines when ordering child support.

Factors considered in child support guideline models may include the parents' earnings or potential earnings, the number of children the parents have together, health insurance expenses, and the costs of daycare. Parents may be required to share costs for childcare in order for the parents to work or to receive training. The child's educational needs and health care expenses are also typically shared costs.

The amount of time each parent shares with the child affects their child support.

Generally, child support payments decrease as time share increases.

In determining child support, courts look at a parent's net disposable income after state and federal taxes and other deductions. Parents often complete a financial statement, helping the court understand the complete financial situation before ordering child support.

In most states, your obligation to pay child support concludes when the child reaches legal adulthood, which is generally 18 years old in this context, but in some places can be 21. There are certain exceptions that may require you to provide support beyond this age, such as when a child attends college or has special needs. It is important to know that your obligation to pay child support does not end automatically, even when a child has reached the age of majority, meaning that you have to make an affirmative request to the court to terminate this responsibility.

If you and your former spouse agree on a child support modification, you can generally file a request with the court to approve the new amount, which must still be sufficient to meet the child's needs under state law. If the modification is contested, you will likely need to make a showing to the court that a major life event or other change in circumstances necessitates altering the amount you are receiving or paying. Qualifying events may include the loss of a job, a medical emergency involving the child, remarriage of the other parent resulting in a significant income increase, and/or a parent becoming disabled. The court will decide if the modification should be temporary or permanent, depending on the situation. It is important to keep in mind that some states limit how many times you can modify child support within a given time frame, so it is advisable to consider the possibility and timing of any future changes before making a formal request.

Grandparents are generally not afforded the same rights to children as parents are, but they can obtain custody in some limited situations.