Question: How does a custody decision in a divorce affect child support?
Answer: Both parents have responsibility to support their children financially. When a divorce occurs and one parent has physical custody of the children, that parent's responsibility is fulfilled by being the custodial parent. The other parent then makes a child support payment which fulfills that non-custodial parent's financial responsibilities. In the case of joint custody, the amount of child support each pays is normally calculated by the court considering the percentage each parent contributes to the couple's joint income and the percentage of time each parent has physical custody of the children.
