Shared Physical Custody

Question: My husband has shared joint legal and shared physical custody of the kids. Can he get bah? My husband went to court and has a court order stating that him and his ex shared custody of the kids. The kids live with the mother until June. My husband pays child support for the kids. Can he still get bah while the kids live with their mother? My husband has the kids all during the school year starting in June and the mother has the kids during Christmas break and during the summer. I'm not sure if that' relevant, but just in case I wanted to put that in there. We live on base in Germany, so my husband does not get bah right now.

Answer: Well he should be getting bah with dependents anyways. I have joint physical/legal but the only difference in my pay is like an extra 250 i get bah with dependents which doesnt really help much considering i pay almost 600 in child support neways for one kid. Tell him to ask his admin shop i have a really good admin shop here so they explained it all to me. -oh one other thing tho if he is married to you he is probably already getting bah with dependents so i dont think his pay will change.

Question: Will i likely get shared physical custody? And do you have any shared custody stories? I'm the father. No drug use or violence in my home whatsoever. Comparable if not better living and financial conditions than the mother's home. Within 5 miles of her home. He is 8 months old. Reliable transportation and flexible work schedule. Sincerely willing to gladly keep my son close to both sides of his family.

Answer: Well, if you are Jesus, then you can probably have any of your demands met. But in all seriousness, those are perfect conditions for a shared physical custody.

Question: Can 2 parents have shared custody but 1 parent spends more time with the children? It is called shared physical custody, but mother spends 4 days a week and father 3 days a week with the children. Is this workable?

Answer: yes this is what we do and it works fine. he gets the baby on tuesdays and weekends ( i work every weekend) so his 3 days are just as good as my 4 since he has the weekend so more time for fun! anything can work as long as you are both reasonable and treat each other with respect.

Question: More info on shared physical custody in va? My ex and I are going through a nasty divorce. There was a lot of sexual abuse on his end, and when I left the marriage I left to be with another man after trying to get away previous. Anyway we went to court on monday and we were given shared physical custody. But I have to give his parents my children until I am on my feet. Which I find completely unfair. He is in the navy, I might want to add. How do I get my kids back and how long will it take. I have been a stay at home mom for 5 years and taken care of them. My youngest is 1 year old and its killing me to not be with them. BTW his parents live in NY and I am in VA. I want sole custody and him to have supervised visitation. Also what should I put in the agreement that I have to make up with his parents. *Little back ground, the man I am with now, we plan on getting married once my divorce is final, will that help my case?

Answer: Getting married will not help your case. It could hurt it if they find one negative thing about that man. What will help your case is getting a job, your own place, and showing your a fit parent. Bringing a man into this that you either left him for or that really does not know your kids is going to hurt you. Why do you want him to have supervised? Has he caused harm to the children? They take supervised visits seriously. Your first priority needs to be your children. Get a job, a safe place for them and get them back. Then worry about the rest. Also, jumping from one marriage to the next will hurt your case. There are other reasons why they have the children going with his parents. We of course are not getting the full story. You need to look at those reasons and fix them.

Question: If both parents filed taxes with child as dependent on both and custody is to be shared, what can be done? Custody is supposed to be 50/50 but the mom moved without notice and took the child so now the 50/50 shared physical custody cannot be shared but she is receiving child support. Both parents filed taxes claiming the child. What can be done if one wants to remove child and what happens if they leave it as it is?

Answer: If the child lived with the mother longer than the father, the IRS will consider the mother the custodial parent for tax purposes. So if both try to claim the child the IRS will grant the dependency to the custodial parent, unless that custodial parent releases the exemption to the non-custodial parent, or there is a court decree stating the non-custodial parent has the right. Laura H – H&R Block – Senior Tax Advisor 5 **This advice was prepared based on our understanding of the tax law in effect at the time it was written as it applies to the facts that you provided.

Question: When it comes to shared child custody? Where I live, shared physical custody can be 50/50 or even 60/40 is considered shared custody. However if one parent has 61% of the time with the child and the other 39%, then it is considered sole custody to the parent with 61% My question is: Does it make any potential difference if 2 parents have 60/40 shared custody signed by the court? Thanks Potential for: She goes to court 1 year later and says she had him 60% of the time and gets awarded full custody.

Answer: It may make a difference for child support payments. In Nevada, the Supreme Court just adopted the 60/40 rule and says that the one who has the kid less may have to pay the one who has the kid more.

Question: How does a (married) father get equal shared custody of 3 yr old son? My husband and I would like to file for equal (50/50) physical custody of his son. Currently he has shared legal and physical custody but my stepson spends 2/3 of his time at his mother's house. How do we best present ourselves, what information do we need to be keeping on his mother?

Answer: File for a Custodial Change..Show stability and solidarity going into the split custody resolution. Possibly just ask for Court Mediation to resolve the Custody time issues as this could reduce out of the pocket expenses. Document every interaction positive or negative with both his son and EX significant other, Daycare , Doctor and play dates (who, what and where).. Ask for every alternating week. One week is yours and the other week the mothers. Divide and alternate the Holidays (which holidays qualify Valentines/St Patrick's Day or just the Major holidays Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter/4th of July) and who has custody on his birthday (How about Parents/Grandparents birthdays and yearly family gatherings?) Good Luck!

Question: How does a (married) father get equal shared custody of 3 yr old son? My husband and I would like to file for equal (50/50) physical custody of his son. Currently he has shared legal and physical custody but my stepson spends 2/3 of his time at his mother's house. How do we best present ourselves, what information do we need to be keeping on his mother?

Answer: File for a Custodial Change..Show stability and solidarity going into the split custody resolution. Possibly just ask for Court Mediation to resolve the Custody time issues as this could reduce out of the pocket expenses. Document every interaction positive or negative with both his son and EX significant other, Daycare , Doctor and play dates (who, what and where).. Ask for every alternating week. One week is yours and the other week the mothers. Divide and alternate the Holidays (which holidays qualify Valentines/St Patrick's Day or just the Major holidays Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter/4th of July) and who has custody on his birthday (How about Parents/Grandparents birthdays and yearly family gatherings?) Good Luck!

Question: can a father with physical custody, but shared custody with the mother file for child support? I want to file for child support but she keeps telling me that I cant ask for child support because we have shared custody. I have physical custody of the kids because thats the way she wanted. The kids live with me and rarely visit the mother. Will she be able to take the kids back?? Iam a good parent and am in no kind of problems with the law. Can she just go to court and say she wants the kids back and just take them?? The kids have been with me for 1 year already.

Answer: Yes you can ask for child support! Having shared custody does not always release you from paying child support! She can have the children whenever she is scheduled to see them and no more! She can go back and try to get them, but you can say she rarely sees them and prove that you have been supporting them all this time, so I doubt she wil regain full custody. You should take HER back to court to get some child support! She just keeps telling you that so you won't do it!

Question: Can sole physical custody be changedto shared custody? Custodial parent(the mother) was recently been granted sole physical custody even though they already had it, but now it is documented in the courts.The noncustodial parent will have visitation 6 hrs a week.Can the noncustodial have the sole custody changed just because they want to? The parent with the sole physical custody is doing a great job with their child and is very stable financially,mentally and physically.The noncustodial is going through constant financial problems,facing foreclosue,3rd wife,three kids by three different partners and has to pay child support for two of those children and has stated in the past that they would move out of the country because of having to pay child support.The non custodial wants to keep pushing the issue of getting more visitation time when they have only just started seeing the child 1 month ago, but say's it has nothing to do with reducing the child support,the noncustodial also keeps stating that they want shared custody despite the fact that their child is doing well witht the other parent.The child is only two years old and has never lived with this noncustodial parent but the NCP is insisten on taking the child out of the home of the custodial parent for half of the week despite how well this child is doing. So my question again is ,can the NCP change the custody arrangement that is already established just because they want more custody?

Answer: They can request that the custody order be changed, but in this situation, chances are very, very likely that the request will be denied.

Question: Teenagers in shared physical custody homes... ? How do you feel about it? I know it's not the perfect situation but would you rather have lived with only one parent and visited the other? I have a 9 year old step daughter who is with her mom from Wed to Sat and we have her from Sun to Wed. It's been like this since she was 3 years old. We all get along great and we attend all her activities together. At this time she doesn't seem to mind but I'm afraid it will change when she's a teen. Any advise?

Answer: I think that is great. My parents made it so I was staying w/ my dad 2 weeks then my mom a weekend, she got sick of it so she got full custody when I was a teen and moved me across to tx, from california, with the situation as is then no one has to battle. She doesn't ever have to feel torn between homes it's equal and that's the way it should stay. I see the only problem that may come is on the weekends when she is a teen she'll want 2 go out so one parent will see more of the back of her head, then probably custody should switch from every other week. But the parents here are making this the easiest on her that it can be in these circumstances and she is very lucky, in the world we live in I think it's rare now to find an all american home, so to have a balanced home w/ split parents is also rare.

Question: Can sole physical custody be changed to shared custody? Can sole physical custody be changed to shared custody? Custodial parent(the mother) was recently been granted sole physical custody even though they already had it, but now it is documented in the courts.The noncustodial parent will have visitation 6 hrs a week.Can the noncustodial have the sole custody changed just because they want to? The parent with the sole physical custody is doing a great job with their child and is very stable financially,mentally and physically.The noncustodial is going through constant financial problems,facing foreclosue,3rd wife,three kids by three different partners and has to pay child support for two of those children and has stated in the past that they would move out of the country because of having to pay child support.The non custodial wants to keep pushing the issue of getting more visitation time when they have only just started seeing the child 1 month ago, but say's it has nothing to do with reducing the child support,the noncustodial also keeps stating that they want shared custody despite the fact that their child is doing well witht the other parent.The child is only two years old and has never lived with this noncustodial parent but the NCP is insisten on taking the child out of the home of the custodial parent for half of the week despite how well this child is doing. So my question again is ,can the NCP change the custody arrangement that is already established just because they want more custody?

Answer: I think the noncustodial parent would have to 1) take you and he back to court to argue his case and 2) convince a judge that he's worthy of joint custody. You obviously have plenty if solid arguments against this, especially if you can prove to a domectic judge that you make more $ than him (as he is already too tied down with other child support payments), and if he has any emotional or mental impediments to providing a stable child-rearing environment. Yeah I don't think the NCP can arbitrarily decide, without your consent, for more custody without taking you back to court or getting a lawyer out of court (both options would be tough for such a cash-strapped guy anyhow).

Question: Contemplating going back to court for shared physical custody (50/50) in massachusetts? I see my 8yr old son every other weekend and it is hardly enough and my son is always asking me why he can't be with me half the time and his mom half the time. His mother will never go for this because of the money. Do i have a chance in hell of getting this from the courts in massachusetts and how old before the courts start taking what he wants into consideration. Ill obviously still have to pay something so i don't get what her problem is. Also, i would like to split the week instead of splitting him from his mother and i for long periods of time. i was thinking that the mother and i alternate weekends and and i get him Wednesday and thursdays or tuesdays and wednesdays. so basically we both get him 15 or so days a month. If anyone has this type of custody i would like to hear how you do it and how your child takes it. thanks His mother and I were never married, i don't know if that has anything to do with it but i figured i would just throw it in there

Answer: It would be best to start off by consulting with a competent child psychologist or therapist to see if it is, in fact, in your child's best interest to do a split physical custodial arrangement. The statistics may be against you.Despite your child's apparent wish to do this, there are serious questions about his level of maturity as an eight year old. Also you could expect, whether true or not, that his mother or her lawyers, are going to accuse you of possibly putting this idea into his head. To protect yourself against this type of accusation, you must be able to demonstrate that you are supportive of the mother's parental rights and say and do nothing to the contrary. As your child grows older into his teens, he can and will decide on his own without any prodding from either parent where he is going to live. It may be unlikely that a Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Judge is going to change an existing custodial arrangement otherwise without some evidence that your child will suffer harm if the current situation continues. That's another reason for the psychologist. Good luck.

Question: My W and I might agree on shared physical child custody, 60% to her and 40% for me.? Under agreement and court approved. So how is child support determined in this case. She still wants child support as she is low income and i don't oppose it but how does it work in this case? Thanks

Answer: I'm not sure. Maybe you can have a mutual agreement between you two. Talk to her and ask what she needs help with during the 60%, and work out something where the kids are taken care of while with her, but you're not taken advantage of; like you can chip in for groceries, or clothes, etc.

Question: Shared physical custody? I am taking my sons mother to court in massachusetts and i want to get my son 50% of the time, does anyone kno what my chances may be and also will i still have to pay child support if my son splits time with me

Answer: It depends on what court and what judge, and if you are trying for shared physical custody to remove child support. It also depends on how far apart you live and whether joint custody makes sense for the benefit of the child. You don't say how old the child is, how often you have been having the child for visits, even more often than the existing parenting plan. You may want to try mediation to see if the two of you can agree on a modification of the existing court order. Generally, if the child is spending about half of the time with each parent, child support is limited to health insurance and other expenses borne by one parent.

Question: I have shared physical and legal custody of my daughter, but her mother is keeping her from me. what can I do? I filed a motion for contempt, an she received the order, but still wont comply, knowing she is in contempt

Answer: so go pick her up. take the court papers with you. get the police if need be.

Question: I have shared physical and legal custody of our 9-year old child, and I want to move to another state...? Following a divorce, I have shared physical and legal custody of our 9-year old child, and I want to move to another state for work opportunities. Currently, neither my ex-wife nor I have child custody payments as we share time with our child. Three question: can I move out of state? What would happen to the custody? Would I likely have to pay child custody if I were seeing my child less? Other than coming to an accommodation with my ex-, how could I proceed to maximize the likelihood that I can move, and minimize the possibility of child support payments? So it sounds like if we can work it out between us, that would be best? Possibly our child visits with me in the summers, etc. Is there a set amount for child support for a non-custodial parent? Also, I do want to take the child with me, but it would be a major fight that neither of us could afford. It's more reason to negotiate a solution, I guess.

Answer: You can't have it both ways. You either need to take your 9 year old 50% of the time, or you need to make (or receive) child support payments. I'm guessing you wouldn't want to take your 9 year old with you? Why not? Are you not as good a parent as your ex? Honestly, if you're not looking to take your child with you, the court will NOT stop you from moving. You don't even have to go to court except to change the visitation allowances (if your ex isn't very cooperative and won't let you see your child without paperwork.) The court can't stop you from leaving the state if your child is staying behind. If your ex will let you see your child whenever anyway, then I wouldn't worry about getting the visitation papers squared away. If you go to court for visitation, the courts will most likely impose a child support order. However, if you don't go to court over this, she would have to TAKE you to court for child support (and would most likely win if you don't have your child 50% of the time.) Good luck.

Question: Affects of shared custody on divorce rate? States with high levels of physical joint custody (shared parenting) have significantly lower rates of divorce compared to states that favor sole custody. This is from the National Center of Health Statistics (NCHS), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. What are your opinions about this? Do you think the type of custody has a direct impact on divorce rates and why do you think that is?

Answer: yes in other states women know they are going to come out on top in a divorce so have no hesitation to get them.

Question: My ex and I have shared custody of our 2 children - I have primary physical and final say - he has visitation. I recently moved out of state with our youngest son (6) and the oldest (16) son stayed with my ex. Just wondering if he is still legally responsible for paying the full child support?

Answer: Only for the 6 year old. You guys need to report that change in living arrangements to the court. He shouldn't have to pay support for a child he's raising.

Question: My ex-husband and I were given shared physical/legal custody. He left the country & I want full custody.? He left to another country to marry. And there is no word on his return. He told our dautghter (who is 16) he can't come back because I'm making it impossible for him to return (he owes me over $15,000 in child support). Child support is part of the problem he will have to face if he comes back to the US, but he did not tell my daughter that he has huge IRS problems as well (I believe he failed to file taxes for several years after we divorced). I would like to get full custody of my two kids. I'm in a tight financial situatiton and want to avoid hiring an attorney. Would anyone know if I can contact the court where my divorce and custody was filed and get them to listen to my case? Or would I have to hire an attorney for the courts to do anything.

Answer: If he is in violation of a child support order, go down and insist they enforce it and have him arrested. The new law allows them to revoke his license and passport. That means he will not be allowed back in the country without paying his child support. You must hire an attorney too. I know money is tight, but this will force his hand and make them enforce child support. Him being in violation means he must pay or go to jail. And that they must revoke his license and passport not allowing him to come back. And attorney will make this happen quickly. Time is of the essence if you want money, because he will want to return and will find a way to pay to get back in the country. And your attorney can also get you full custody. This is one of those times, when you need to do what you can to get an attorney. Sell your computer, turn off the cable and the internet, eat chicken legs and rice for a month or peanut butter and jelly and get the money you are owed and the custody you deserve. If you want real results, quickly, you must hire an atty.