In divorce and custody cases in
Williamson County, Texas, many people choose to customize their child
possession schedules to fit their own unique needs, rather than rely on the
Standard Possession Schedule (SPO) contained in the Texas Family Code. Oftentimes the parties craft a 50/50 schedule
so that each parent has equal time with the children. Whenever this happens, an inevitable question
is who will be responsible for
child support. One parent might argue that since possession
time is equal, neither parent should have to pay support, whereas the other
parent may believe he or she is entitled to child support because their spouse
earns more money.
Generally speaking, when the
parties follow a SPO, it is the parent who has less time who pays child support. In reality, the split in time under a SPO is
a little closer to 60/40 than 50/50, meaning the difference in total time is
not very great. The Family Code does not
address who should pay support when time is equally divided, but it is probably
wrong to assume that there will automatically be no support just because
possession time is equal. Some parents
choose to split the child-related expenses.
Others calculate what each would pay in support, offset the two numbers,
and the higher wage-earner pays the difference.
In other cases, parents still follow a traditional child support
arrangement even though they have equal time.
There are several reasons for customizing the possession schedule. First, the
Family Code does not offer any specific rule to follow for setting support in
this context. Second, the law allows the
parties lots of flexibility to customizing their agreement on possession and
support. Third, Judges treat each case
differently, and may order support in some cases but not others depending on
the specific circumstances. That means
that in one 50/50 case a Judge may award child support, and in another that
same Judge may order no child support at all.
It is worth noting that most
50/50 schedules are the product of the parties’ agreement, not the result of a
contested trial. Because of certain
presumptions in the Family Code (and unless the parties have already been
following a 50/50 schedule for an extended period of time) Judges will usually
give one parent the right to designate the children’s primary residence and the
other standard possession whenever a case goes to trial on that issue. That means that the question of who pays
support when possession is equal rarely comes up in Court.
Jay D. Smith has years of experience and can answer questions and
build a strong case for you. We have helped many in Texas with customized
support schedules and child support. Contact a Williamson county divorce
attorney for help.
