In an ideal world, each parent would be responsible for exactly 50 percent of their child’s finances and no court orders would determine who pays how much and for what. Unfortunately, that ideal situation doesn’t always happen. One parent typically ends up spending more on their children, whether they live with both equally or not.
Who pays child support when custody is split equally?
Splitting physical custody 50/50 (also known as equal time-sharing) is usually always in the best interest of the children. But, when calculating child support, it doesn’t usually come down to who the children live with the most. In Florida, each parent’s net income is what determines who pays child support. So unless you both make the exact same amount of money each year, the one who makes more money will be ordered to make child support payments to the other.
Many different circumstances are considered when determining child support such as the following financial matters:
- Income of each parent
- Residential time the children spend with each parent
- Income tax deductions
- Insurances (health, dental, life)
- Extra childcare costs
- Other expenses as appropriate
The court uses Florida Child Support Guidelines to determine who will pay the other child support and how much they are required to pay.
How child custody is determined in Florida
Time-sharing decisions in Florida are always made in the best interest of the child. Judges consider the following factors before setting the time-sharing parameters of a parenting plan:
- The child’s health and safety
- The child’s emotional and developmental needs
- The parents’ co-parenting and communication skills
- The parent’s’ moral fitness to parent their child
The Parenting Plan includes the parties’ daily responsibilities, the child’s time-sharing schedule with each parent, which parent’s address will be used for school designation, how the parents will communicate and who is responsible for obtaining health care and paying the health care premiums.
Hiring a Florida divorce lawyer
If you would like to speak to a professional about your child support and child custody options, contact one of our lawyers here.