What is Child Support and Who Pays for It?

What is Child Support?

Child support is a form of support payment that is often ordered when two parents are no longer living together. It is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship. Child support is required to support the children so those children do not become wards of the state or otherwise dependant on state-run welfare programs. Child support may also be ordered even when a parent does not have contact with his or her child unless that parent has legally surrendered parental rights with permission of the court to the other parent. 

Who Pays?

Child support is paid by one parent to the other, either after a divorce or any other type of relationship. Normally, the parent who is not living with or raising the child will have to pay child support to the parent who is living with the child. Child support may also be ordered in joint-custody situations as well. In these cases, one parent has majority custody of the child while the other parent has to pay child support. 

The child must always be the genetic child or the adopted child of the parent to pay child support. Even if a stepparent pays for the child’s expenses while married to the child’s parent, at divorce or separation, the stepparent will generally not have to pay child support unless there was a legal adoption of the child. 

How is it Determined?

Child support is determined by a variety of factors that vary slightly between states. A court will always consider the number of children, the income of each parent, and each parent’s earning potential. Another important factor is how much time the child spends with each parent. For example, in a joint custody arrangement, child support may be reduced if the child spends a great deal of time with the non-custodial parent, since the parent will provide some financial support for the child. 

Takeaways

Child support is a periodic payment that is usually paid to the custodial parent by the non-custodial parent to support the child. There are many factors that go into determining child support but the main ones are income and the number of children the family has.