Who Pays Child Support?

If you are going through a situation involving the custody of your children, you may be wondering who has to pay child support. Both you and the other parent have a financial obligation to support your children. The type of custody arrangement between you and the other parent, whether by agreement or Order of the Court, will determine who pays child support. If you have a 50/50 custody schedule, then the parent that makes more money will likely be the one paying, but at a discounted rate. If you have primary custody of the child/children, then the parent who has partial custody will be obligated to pay child support. However, if the parent that has partial custody has the child overnight for more than 40% of the time (6 overnights over the course of a 14 day schedule), then the parent will be entitled to a discount of the amount of child support they have to pay. When seeking child support from the other parent it is best to get a Court Order to ensure that the payments come in. An Order from the court can provide you some assurance that the money you are relying on to help care for your children won’t suddenly disappear one day.