Shared Custody

Question: Joint Physical Custody? Child Support? I have a question about joint physical custody. Right now I have Joint Legal Custody of my child... I know I'm not capable of getting sole custody so I am going to try for Joint Physical Custody. If I am awarded Joint Physical Custody do I still have to pay child support since we are splitting the time equally??

Answer: If both parents share equal parenting time (actual time WITH the child) and the parents make about the same income then there will not be a child support order set. Unfortunately, because the likelihood of both parents having the same salary means that 1 parent will likely have to pay some child support. However, with joint custody and equal parenting time the amount of child support will likely be very low/nominal.

Question: Joint legal joint physical custody divorce.? A friend of mine is going through a divorce and he has his kids during the day while their mother works(8-4:30)) and she takes them at night while he works(3-12am) The few hours in between they go to grandmas house. He wants joint legal joint phsical custody so he can keep having his kids 50% of the time and have a say in certain decisions. They also do every other weekend. How would the michigan child support formula work in a case of joint legal joint physical custody? The diffrence in income is 617 a month.

Answer: Child support is based on ones income, not the other persons income. So they would look at Dads and apply the formula. They would look at Mom's and apply the formula. The result is what the obligation would be if for a non-custodial parent. The irony is that the custodial parent, even though they physically have the child, are not required to in anyway to support the child above being neglectful. The non-custodial parent can be jailed for not paying, but not in any way is the custodial parent held accountable, and they have the child! Joint physical custody is a must for a Father. He MUST get it, not because of money or but because of how the law will treat him he does not and how unfair the system will be to him as he tries to keep a relationship with his child if he does not have joint physical custody. The Custodial parent is given FREE representation any time they want to go to the State and make claims of any kind that they can about the non-custodial parent. In Georgia, its ALL done in a Civil court so guess what, no rights for the defendant other than those they can pay for they DO NOT get the same courtesy of free representation from the state as their ex. The system is so abused its is a underlying joke among divorce lawyers... the state will do their case for them. All they have to do is tell their client to make a claim... regardless of any truth. He MUST get joint physical custody.

Question: I share joint physical and joint legal custody with my sons dad.? If I feel its not in my children's best interest to stay with their dad, can I legally remove them from his house and have them live with me instead? We both have joint legal and physical custody in Michigan. They have no permanant residence as decided by the courts.

Answer: A court will have to decide if it is in the children's best interest.

Question: joint physical custody for a dad? is joint physical custody of my 8 month old likely for a judge to give once my divorce is final? i live in missouri.

Answer: I would see no reason why, but make sure you have a good lawyer are you won't get what you want. We're fighting the system now and I got a sorry lawyer/ The lawyer is what makes the big difference. Fathers should have just as many rights as the Mother does, but you have some lawyers and judges who believe they don't. Good Luck In Missouri most Fathers are required to take parenting classes. I live in Missouri

Question: child support and physical joint custody? will I receive child support if the judge orders physical joint custody?

Answer: Depends on the difference in income. If he earns more, he'll have to pay. If you earn more, you won't have to pay. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Question: How old does child has to be before she/he can go with his father for the weekend as part of shared custody? How about if its just an infant or a toddler, would the father still have the right to keep him/her the weekend?

Answer: It depends on the judge. My son is getting over-night visits with his children and has been since his son was 1 y.o.

Question: My boyfriend is wanting shared custody? His son was born may of 2009 took a DNA test in December because he didnt know if it was his, because his ex always cheated on him. He is going to court next week and really want shared custody. He has a job, house, no criminal records, do you think he can get it and what should he do to better his chances? He has already bought $200 of stuff already for him.

Answer: His chances are great. So yes I think he could stand a chance. What he could do to better his chances? If he is ordered to pay child support. He needs to make sure it is paid in full up to current date. If he isn't yet ordered to pay child support he could set up a bank account for that purpose, and add money to it weekly. Keep his receipts if he has bought anything for the baby and given it to the mother. Attend parenting classes. Now if you and boyfriend live together you should attend with him. Have everything in house that he baby would need while there. Crib, car seat, bottles, formula etc. Don't get into petty fights with the baby's mom.

Question: Shared Custody Moms: How do you deal with it..? when your children talk constantly about the other parent when they are in your care? (Daddy bought me this, daddy did that, daddy's dating so-and-so, daddy took me here, daddydaddydaddy...) My daughter is 4 - how can I get her to realize the time she spends with me is important also? We have 50/50 shared custody.

Answer: It's so hard. I know it hurts like heck. But remember she is just sharing with you. She is not trying to hurt you. She loves you and is just talking like kids do. You are the adult, it's so hard to be mature when you are hurting or even angry. My kids actually spend most of their time with their father. I hate it. We have joint legal custody, but he has physical custody. When we divorced my 14 year old son wanted to live with Dad, the judge wouldn't separate the children, so my ex got physical custody. We only lived a mile a part at the time, so I saw the kids everyday anyway. The day our divorce was final, my ex annouced his engagement and that he was moving to TN, we lived in the ATL GA area. There was nothing I could do. He has way deeper pockets and on my salary I didn't have the money for a court battle. I still see the kids every other weekend, holidays and a month in the summer, but i do all the driving...5 hours there and 5 hours back. It's not easy. Divorce never is. I hear stories about my kid's lives in TN with their new step mom, who makes the younger ones call her Mom. Drives me nuts. But, I try to be as nice as I can. I love my kids. Your daughter is only 4. She loves you unconditionally and when she is with her Daddy i bet she talks all about how wonderful and cool you are...Don't worry she will know how important the time she spends with you is, she's little right now. She can be influenced with toys etc. But when it comes down to it, you are her Mommy. She will always love you. You have nothing to worry about. Good Luck

Question: shared custody and parent teacher meetings? my ex and myself share legal custody of our son. our son who is in headstart has a parent teacher meeting coming up. my ex has supervised visits , does the one who is supervising the visits need to be there? The one who supervise his visits is his mom. of course we will both be there but his mom is a busy body and thinks she should be there to.

Answer: ?? I'm confused. One or preferably both parents should attend the parent teacher interview. Supervised or non supervised visitation has nothing to do with it. I would assume the two of you are adult enough to speak to the teacher together?

Question: i have shared custody of my daughter can i stop the mother from taking her to my relatives house? im the father i have shared custody of my 4 year old daughter i don't approve of her mother taking her to my relatives home is their anything i can do

Answer: Usually if it's shared custody and their is no abuse then she may take the child any where she wants , as long as it's safe and not out of state.Now taking them to your relatives house is a bit strange. but look at it this way at least you'll know where they are and you should not avoid going there because of it. TRY not to let it stress you out as that gives her more power over you.

Question: A question for parents with shared custody? My husband and I have very different beliefs from his ex-wife (mother of his two sons). We recently found out that she (the ex wife) is teaching her sons something we completely disagree with. So, my question is, how do you go about teaching your child something the other parents is teaching them the opposite of, without making them appear like a "bad parent" or disrespecting them? To give you an example, my step-son's mother is giving him (at 12 y/o) condoms and allowing him to date unsupervised. She gets very upset whenever my husband disagree with her about something.

Answer: You guys should sit down with the ex wife and discuss what goes and what doesn't. My children are not allowed to stay over with their father and his new wife because she has 4 kids that smoke pot the youngest being 12. My oldest is 10 and we have a 7 year old. I had a long talk with their father about why they cannot go over there and he agrees with me. I hope the ex does not get offended. Good luck.

Question: Are there any Canadian fathers here that won SHARED custody in the court? Or do you know any that did? @Robby: When I said Canadian I mean living in Canada.

Answer: I don't know of any personally. This site may provide some insight. http://pcaccanada.tripod.com/index.html

Question: does anyone know of a president to not paying child support when custody is shared during summer? My fiance as his daughter every other week during the summer, is there anyone that knows where to find a court record of someone not having to pay during the summer if custody is shared 50 - 50 exactly?

Answer: I do not know of a precedent offhand. However, you can go online to your states child support enforcement site and use their guidelines and forms to calculate the number of overnights your boyfriend has his children to see if a decrease is warranted. If it appears warranted he can retain a lawyer and go to court or he can obtain a motion to modify from the local clerk of court's office and go to court himself.

Question: Has anyone shared custody of their dog? My boyfriend, and I, bought a dog together. we have decided to take a *break* I moved out possibly temporary, and neither of us could stand it not seeing our dog. So we decided to do a joint custody thing. Some people think we are weird and crazy, but this dog is like our child. anyone else done this type of thing?

Answer: Joint custody can be done, but you need to make sure you are doing what is best for the dog and that you are not making the dog a pull-me-push-you. One person will ultimately be the main person and you both need to discuss who the dog should be with as that main person. Who is the dog more devoted to? That is the home the dog needs to stay in. Then you can give the other person some time with the dog as a special road trip camp for the dog. Let the other person walk the dog etc. Just do not confuse the dog with too many bouncing home trips or you will have a very uphappy animal.

Question: If 2 people have shared custody of children, and one intends to move away,? Do they have to file with the court to get approved?

Answer: Assuming you mean the one with whom the kids mainly live, if there is no stipulation in the court order for the shared custody about what distance the kids must remain to the other parent, then usually they can just move, and don't need a court order. However if there is anything from the original court order, than a person would have to have that order changed by a judge to stipulate the new living arrangements. Also, the parent with whom the kids don't live can file a claim with the court to prevent the move and the judge can prevent it if he or she sees reason to. The judge would deny the right for the person to move if he or she feels it would interfere with the other parent's right to visitation and the time the kids have with the other parent. Sometimes there can be a compromise and the parents can agree on if the kids will fly out every long weekend, and two weeks or a month in the summer, and ever second major holiday, or something like that, and the judge will go along with it.

Question: What effect does a shared custody arrangement have on child support?

Answer: a 50/50 arrangement will reduce support payments for the non custodial parent. This is for the healthiest way & best interest of the child, i highly recommend it!

Question: What are my rights with shared legal custody? I am a divorced father of three living in Pennsylvania. I have shared legal custody and partial Physical custody of my three daughters. My question is, what does "shared legal custody" entitle me too? My ex wife has my youngest daughter involved with Children Services and taking a narcotic behavior modification drug. I disagree on my daughter seeing this doctor OR taking the medication, as I feel the only problem my daughter has is a mother whom prefers to spend the majority of her day playing games online. When the child is in my custody, She acts like what I would consider a healthy, active seven year old girl.

Answer: If you have shared legal custody you are entitled to take her to another doctor, perhaps a sociologist/psychiatrist as well, and have a second opinion done. Do this while she is with you, and you will not have to inform the mother that that is what you want to do. If the results show what you expect, then proceed. When you have the results then you can inform Child Protective Services that you think that the child's medication regime is so that your ex doesn't have to deal with her. Then you two may have to go to mediation, with a court appointed/Child Services Representative for your daughter, to see what really is in her best interest. You both owe your daughter the best chance in life, and you must find a way to work together to do that.

Question: My wife and I have just separted 2 months ago, when do I start paying child support? We have shared custody.?

Answer: You should of started paying child support from the moment you and your wife seperated- 2mths ago

Question: Is it legal to have shared custody and no child support in a pre-nupt?

Answer: Joe is absolutely incorrect. Every state that I know of explicitly forbids any type of abdication of child support. So any prenup that attempts to lift that burden will be struck down as unenforceable. Edit: Joe, I do this for a living. You are wrong. Here's a secondary source you can start with: http://www.legalhelpmate.com/prenuptial-agreement-faq.aspx#future-children-prenuptial-agreement. Here's a state specific one: http://leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-123A.html#NRS123ASec050 (See NRS 1123A.050(2) "The right of a child to support may not be adversely affected by a premarital agreement.") You CAN agree on a support in an amount in EXCESS of the state mandated minimum, but you CANNOT go below that. Period. I challenge you to find a single state statute or case law that allows you to do otherwise. And more to the point, it is quite common to have provisions dealing specifically with child support in a prenuptial agreement. You most often see it placed in a prenup by the wife-to-be as a means of ensuring her children (and herself) can live comfortably if the marriage ends. But it often happens where one spouse is marrying into a family or relationship where there is a big discrepancy in financial status. And yes, you CAN agree on shared custody in a pre-nup. I understood the question perfectly, Joe B. You did not.

Question: HOW DO WE GET SHARED CUSTODY? My husband and I have been married since June 6. He got someone pregnant in Jan and she is due in a couple weeks. My husband wants to go for shared custody and she doesn't because she doesnt want the baby to be around me. What are his chances of getting Shared custody? And once you have shared custody can she make him pay child support? We also have a 8 week old son together. He cheated but i have forgave him and we are looking past that.

Answer: First you can get shared custody but you might need to prove that he is the father first and yes he could be required to pay child support which he should do anyway it the child is his. Get the paternity test done first then go from there and if need be get a lawyer and go to court, no court will deny a parent the right to be a part of the child's life within reason