How do the different types of custody granted by the Court affect child support awards?
A. There are various types of sole & shared custody that can be awarded. However, for purposes of child support, the child support guideline is based on the percentage of physical overnights spent by a minor child. When the child spends at least 35% or more physical overnights during the calendar year with each parent, the Court will calculate the child support award based on the shared physical custody calculations under the guideline. If the child spends less than 35% of the calendar year with one parent, then child support will be calculated based on sole physical custody. Q. What does third party legal custody or de facto parent mean? A. Both are third party custody situations where the Court has granted custody to an individual who is not the natural parent. The third party legal custodian or de facto parent has the legal responsibility to make decisions regarding the childs health, education and general welfare. Q. Is the natural parent still responsible for paying child support
Please keep in mind that laws vary depending on which state you live in. I live in Georgia and my job is Child Support. In our state, we have physical and legal custody. Physical custody just determines on where the child lives most of the time. Joint physical custody would mean that the child lives in each house half the time. Usually in these cases, child support would not be ordered, however, there are special cases where it would be if one parents makes a much larger amount than the other. You would definitely need to explore the law in your state, as it may be different. Also, the way a State calculates child support is very different in each state. Georgia has their own Calculator Worksheet, but some states still use percentages. Hope this helped 🙂
