Paternal Child Support Lawyer in Ventura

Many people think that fathers always pay child support, and they think that any time the mother gets custody of the kids that the father will need to pay child support. While most family situations do see some level of child support ordered, this support is not automatic and should be tied to the specifics of the case before a court orders child support.

Courts typically award child support to the “custodial parent.” When courts award custody, they award two types: legal custody (the right to make decisions in your child’s life) and physical custody (the right to have your children live in your household). When parents have joint physical custody, one parent typically has the children for more than half the year, and they are known as the “custodial parent,” or they are said to have “primary custody”.

When a parent has a child living in their household, they typically pay for expenses out-of-pocket, so a parent who has the children for a longer part of the year ends up paying more out-of-pocket expenses. Since the custodial parent usually pays more out-of-pocket, the other parent is expected to contribute child support to offset those costs fairly.

However, child support also depends on the resources each parent has. If the custodial parent is a stay-at-home mom, then they may have no income to contribute to child support, and the other parent would be responsible for the full cost of support. However, the opposite is also true: if the custodial parent has enough income to support the children and the noncustodial parent has limited or no income, the other parent may pay only minimal child support or may not be asked to pay anything.