Going through a child custody battle with the father or mother of your children is difficult and emotional. On top of this, not many parents really know all that much about how child support really works, especially with a large number of myths that cloud the true facts about it. In order to better understand how child support works, to help get you through this emotional and difficult time, you will want to separate these five myths from fact:
- Joint Custody Means There Won't be Any Child Support: Joint custody is a term that is often confused because there are two types of joint custody. One type is legal joint custody of the children. This is where both parents work together to make decisions about the children including where they go to school and in what area they live and more. The other type of joint custody is where the child will spend most of their time with the primary parent while they only visit the other parent on weekends or every other weekend. In this situation, the parent who is not the primary parent typically pays child support. In a legal joint custody situation, the parents could both pay child support since they both make financial decisions about the children together. The amount is typically determined in mediation or court and is based on the both parent's income and other factors.
- Child Support Cannot be Changed Once Approved: Another common misconception that people have about child support is that they cannot change the terms of the child support once it has been approved in court. However, either parent can make requests. A parent may want to make changes in the case of increased daycare amounts, a job loss, or even in the case of a promotion.
- Delinquent Payments Are No Longer Relevant Once the Child is 18: No matter what, delinquent payments are always owed. In some cases, the court may even rule that these payments must be paid to the adult child instead of the other parent.
- Delinquent Payments Only Affect Credit Score: Not making child support payments actually doesn't affect credit score. Instead, your license can be revoked, as well as your passport to ensure that these payments are not avoided by moving to another state or country.
By knowing these four myths that surround child custody, you can better understand the laws that are involved and how child support is going to work in your particular situation. For more information, visit sites like http://nelsonlawgrouppc.com/.
