How Does Parenting Time Affect Child Support?
When parents of minor children break up, they both share responsibility for meeting the financial needs of their sons and daughters. A youth’s daily expenses are usually covered by the parent they are with at the time. That is why Colorado law links parenting time with child support determination. In situations where the child spends most of the time in one parent’s home, the other parent typically sends payments to satisfy their part of the financial obligation. However, things can get more complicated in cases where a youth spends a similar about of time in both residences, or when changes occur in living arrangements.
Colorado uses the income shares model, which combines the income of both parents and calculates each one’s child support obligation based on the percentage they contribute to the total amount. If one parent has the child for 273 or more overnights in a year, that parent is considered to provide sole physical care for child support purposes. Adjustments to the child support amount are made when parenting time the non-primary parent has more than 92 overnights per year. This is because as a son or daughter spends more time in a parent’s home, that parent is more likely to pay for the child’s daily expenses. Accordingly, it is fair to reduce what they must send to their former partner.
Split custody, where each parent has primary custody of at least one child, involves a separate calculation for each child. The court determines the support obligation for each parent individually, based on income and time spent with the child, and offsets the amounts to arrive at the final obligation.
Understanding the interplay between parenting time and child support can be complex. Parents dealing with these issues should seek advice from an experienced family law attorney. At the Law Offices of Bonnie E. Saltzman, LLC in Greenwood Village, we can examine the circumstances of your existing or proposed parenting time schedule and explain how they might affect your child support order. We can also include other factors that affect child support calculations, such as health insurance premiums and childcare costs, so that you have a good idea what the eventual obligation will be. Likewise, if your parenting time schedule has recently changed, our firm will advise if a child support modification is also warranted. For a free consultation, please call 720-388-1565 or contact us online.