Joint Custody

Joint Custody
Many states require that the parents share joint custody because it is usually in the best interest of a minor child. When the parents share joint custody they must work together and share in the right and responsibility to decide health, education, religious, and daily welfare issues. With joint custody, the children often spend half their time with their mother and half with their father.

When both parents share the custody of their minor children, the court will calculate child support payments differently then if only one parent has custody. The theory is that each parent is responsible for the child’s expenses when the child is in their physical custody, and since physical custody is shared, those expenses are also shared. But if one parent earns substantially more income than the other, the court may order child support payments. For example, if the child lives with one parent in a tiny apartment for part of the time and then lives with the other parent in a mansion for the rest of the time, the court may order that the wealthier parent contribute child support to allow the child to have a similar standard of living with both parents.