If you have sole custody over your child, you may expect the other parent to be responsible for paying for child support. However, the resolution for child support may not be so cut and dry if you and your child’s other parent share joint custody. This may be especially true if your joint custody arrangement is not an exact 50/50 split. The bottom line is that it may all depend on the amount of custodial time you and the other parent have over your child, down to the hour. That said, continue reading to learn how custodial time might impact child support amounts and how an experienced Bergen County child support attorney at McNerney & McAuliffe can help you receive a fair order.
How does the amount of custodial time possibly impact the amount of child support?
When determining the amount of child support to order, the New Jersey family court may first look into the amount of overnight stays the child has with each parent. This first determines whether there is a sole or joint custody arrangement in place. By definition, an overnight stay is considered when one parent has custodial responsibility over a child for at least 12 hours of a 24-hour day. Therefore, a parent who shares joint custody over a child has them living in their residence for anywhere between 104 to 182 overnights. This is because 104 to 182 overnights is 28 to 50 percent of the calendar year, respectively.
Once a joint custody arrangement is established, the court may establish a child support arrangement. In short, the more overnight stays a child has with one parent, the more child support payments they should receive, typically. This is because they are expected to incur more expenses with caring for the child most of the time. For example, there may be an inflated cost for food, clothing, housing, transportation, childcare, education, healthcare, etc.
Besides custodial time, what else is used for a fair child support order?
You must understand that custodial time may not be the be-all and end-all determination for your child support order. That is, there are other significant factors that you must beg the New Jersey family court to give fair consideration. For example, you may not have the majority of overnight stays with your child, but you may not also earn as much income as the other parent. With this, you may argue you should not be expected to pay such excessive child support. Other relevant considerations may be your assets and liabilities, age and health, other domestic support obligations, etc.
In conclusion, there is far more to explain than this blog has only begun to cover. For more information, please get in touch with a skilled Bergen County family law attorney at McNerney & McAuliffe. We look forward to collaborating with you.
