Child Support and Custody

Child custody involves allocation of parental rights or duties and the amount of time the children spend with each parent.  Rights and duties can be exercised independently by each parent, shared jointly by both parents, or awarded solely to one parent, depending on whether they can cooperate.  Physical custody can be according to the standard possession order (one parent has primary custody of the children and the other parent visits his or her children every other weekend), the parents may split custody (where different children live with each parent and visit the other parent according to a standard possession schedule), or the parents can share custody (where each parent has custody of their children 50% of the time).  Split custody may happen when older children express a preference for living with different parents.  Child support is calculated differently depending on the parent’s custody arrangement.

1.  Child Support and Standard Possession. 

Under a standard possession order, the parent who visits his or her children every other week end generally pays child support according to legislative guidelines.  Texas guideline child support is calculated by multiplying the net monthly resources of the paying parent by a percentage based on number of children before the court.  For example, when one child is involved, the percentage is 20%; for two children it’s 25%, for three it’s 30%; four children earn a percentage of 35%, and for five or more children, not less than 40% of net resources is used as the multiplying percentage.  The percentages are reduced if children from a prior marriage are also receiving support.

2.  Child Support and Split Custody. 

Under a split custody arrangement, where different children live with each parent, courts generally calculate child support according to standard guidelines for both parents and order the parent with the higher income to pay the difference in calculated child support to the parent with the lower income.  In this arrangement, all the children enjoy approximately the same level of support no matter where they live.  Another way to calculate child support under split custody is to calculate child support based on the number of children living in Mom’s and Dad’s households and then ordering the parent with the higher support obligation to pay the difference in calculated child support to the other parent.  For example, if one parent has custody of one child and the other parent has custody of three, you would use the guideline formula to calculate the support owed by each parent separately, and order the parent with the higher support obligation to pay the difference to the other parent.

3.  Child Support and Shared Custody. 

A common model for calculating child support when the parents share custody 50/50 is called the income shared model.  Here, child support is calculated by combining the incomes of both parents and calculating the percentage of income each parent earns.  For example, if Dad earns $50,000 and Mom earns $100,000, Dad would pay 33% of the children’s expenses and Mom would pay 67% of the children’s expenses.  Another common model for calculating child support with shared custody is to calculate the amount of child support each parent would own under standard legislative guidelines and subtract the lower support payments from the higher support payment.  Then, the parent with the higher support obligation would be ordered to pay the difference in calculated child support to the other parent.  If the parent’s incomes are approximately equal, then no child support is owed. 

Physical custody in Texas may be by standard possession, split custody, or shared custody.  Child support is calculated differently depending on the particular custody arrangement each family enjoys.   Under a standard possession order, child support is calculated according to Texas legislative guidelines.  When different children live with each parent, courts generally calculate child support according to standard guidelines for both parents and order the parent with the higher income to pay the difference to the parent with the lower income. 

• A common model for calculating child support when the parents share custody is to calculate child support by combining the incomes of both parents and calculating the percentage of income each parent earns.  Then, each parent pays that percentage of the children’s expenses. 
• Another common model under shared custody is to calculate the child support each parent would own under legislative guidelines and subtract the lower support payments from the higher support payment.  The parent with the higher support obligation would be ordered to pay the difference to the other parent.  If the parent’s incomes are approximately equal, then no child support is owed.