Why do I have to pay child support if I have shared parenting?
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Having prepared many Shared Parenting Plans or Joint Custody Agreements over the years, I often receive a simple question from my client: Why do I have to pay child support if I have Shared Parenting (Joint Custody)? The central focus of a Shared Parenting Plan is the shared responsibilities and decision-making between the parents of a child (ren).
What to do if father does not want custody of child?
Courts will take the backing down of the father as a sign that they do not want custody, regardless of the father’s actual feelings. Make sure you continue to work with your attorney for fathers rights and be present at all hearings to show the judge you are invested in having custody of your child.
When do parents agree to share parenting time?
In fact, in the majority of Shared Parenting Plans that I have prepared, the parties do not agree to an even division of parenting time. In many cases a parent may agree to have a standard amount of parenting time (approximately every other weekend), but he/she may want to be involved in the decision-making regarding the children.
Unfortunately, this can have a negative impact on their children, which is something that courts strive to great lengths to avoid. This tension is especially prevalent after a divorce court grants the parents shared physical custody over their children.
Is it better to share custody with both parents?
So, even though spending equal time with each parent may be stressful, difficult, and expensive, if it means that your child will have a deeper bond with both parents, and will be happier, more well-adjusted, and more successful in life in the long run, then sharing custody makes all the sense in the world.
What happens if both parents are good parents?
If it is presumed from the outset that both parents are good parents, neither is evil, both love their children equally, and legal and physical custody will be equal in the absence of clear and convincing evidence of abuse, neglect or other physical harm, then the custody battles will disappear.
Can a father win custody of a child?
Custody battles usually present a challenge for all parties involved. However, if you’re a father trying to win child custody, you may wonder if your gender could impact your case, especially given the past practice of mothers seemingly having a measurable advantage in family courts across the nation.
Can a single father get full custody of a child?
Whether you’re a single father heading to the court for the first time, or you’re appealing an existing child custody order, you’ll want to bear the following in mind. Any father who wants to pursue custody of his child should start by understanding the differences between full custody and joint custody.