Only half of custodial parents that have an order or agreement for child support receive payment in full. Annually, over 5 million custodial parents live without any award of child support from the other parent. Only 6.2 million (approximately half) of the 11.5 million custodial parents have a child support award or agreement. The child support award should be based on the proportionate income or earnings capacity of the parent Legal custody types, examples, and pros-cons This isn’t vague l...

If the court does not order a monthly child support obligation but the parents share equal parenting time, the court may order the higher-earning parent to pay offset child support to the lower-earning parent. When parents participate in a 50/50 possession schedule but are not on equal playing fields (i.e., there is a significant disparity in the parents’ income), courts will likely establish a monthly child support obligation. If each parent has the children for an equal amount of time, isn’t e...

If you are looking for help with a civil legal problem, enter an address or city below to find an LSC-funded legal aid organization near you. LSC is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. If a child spends more than 40 percent of his or her overnights with the noncustodial parent, the child support requirements will be reduce "Jurisdictions across the country may use different terms to refer to custo...