Is There Child Support if We Have Shared Physical Custody?

In “How Is Child Support Calculated in Connecticut?” we learned that the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines assume that one parent is the custodial parent. But many Connecticut families have a parenting plan where both parents share physical custody. Is there child support if we have shared physical custody?

The short answer is that there is often still child support, even when parents share custody.

This is because Connecticut uses an “income shares model” for child support, which presumes that a child should receive the same proportion of parental income as they would have received if the parents lived together. Even when a child spends substantial time at both parents’ homes, Connecticut courts presume that the amount of child support calculated under the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines is the correct amount for the court to order.

Shared Custody Child Support Calculation

Under the Guidelines, in a shared physical custody situation, “the presumptive current support order shall equal the presumptive current support amount of the parent with the higher net weekly income, payable to the parent with the lower net weekly income.”

And even that’s not the end of the story.

“Shared physical custody” is a deviation criteria available under the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines. A deviation occurs when the parents agree between themselves to a lower or higher child support payment than the calculation under the formula.  Alternatively, a Judge can decide that the calculation under the Guidelines would be inequitable or inappropriate in a particular case.

Read: Do We Have to Follow the CT Child Support Guidelines?

Shared Physical Custody Deviation from the Child Support Guidelines

Under the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines, when a shared physical custody arrangement exists, it may be appropriate to deviate from presumptive support amounts if:

• such arrangement substantially
  • reduces expenses for the child, for the parent with the lower net weekly income, or
  • increases expenses for the child, for the parent with the higher net weekly income; and
  • sufficient funds remain for the parent receiving support to meet the needs of the child after deviation; or
• both parents have substantially equal income.

Read: What’s the Difference Between Shared Custody and Split Custody?

Percentage of Time at Each Parent’s House

The Commission that drafts the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines rejects the notion of a mathematical formula based on the time children spend with each parent to determine support amounts in the shared physical custody context.

The Commission writes: “Application of such a formula would tend to shift the focus away from the best interests of the child and more toward financial considerations, which would be inconsistent with Connecticut law.”

Shared Physical Custody Definition

Just as it rejects a formula based upon percentages, the Commission also rejects a “bright-line” definition of shared custody to “discourage disputes over time-sharing as a means of affecting support amounts.”

However, they do write that “a finding of shared physical custody should be made only where each parent exercises physical care and control of the child for periods substantially in excess of two overnights on alternate weekends, alternate holidays, some vacation time, and other visits of short duration, which may occasion an overnight stay during the week. While periods substantially in excess of this schedule are required for a finding of shared physical custody, the Commission emphasizes that an equal time-sharing is not required for such finding.”

Finally, the Commission leaves it to the Courts to determine “what precise level of sharing is sufficient to warrant a deviation from presumptive support amounts.”

Next Steps

Please check out this article to learn more about how you calculate child support under the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines. Or, head here to learn more about the other deviation criteria. If you have questions or want to learn more about how child support might work in your specific situation, please get in touch with us either here or by phone at 860-530-4316.