How do they decide who pays child support?

How do they decide who pays child support?

Usually the amount of child support will be determined by the current income of the payor. If the court feels that the amount of income a parent claims they earn is not a fair reflection of their actual income, the court may attribute income to that person. This is called ‘imputing’ income.

How does child support work when you share custody?

If you share custody of your children, it does not mean that no child support is needed. If you share custody, the rules for calculating child support are a bit different. You need to consider the amount in the tables that each of you would pay for those children if the other parent had sole custody.

Why do I have to pay child support with joint custody?

Joint custody doesn’t negate a child support obligation. Even if both parents share custody on an equal basis, one parent will inevitably owe some amount in child support. So even if the child spends equal time with each parent, the parent with the higher income will owe child support.