The calculation of child support in Missouri is pursuant to a form created by the state of Missouri, known as the Form 14. That form includes a credit to the parent paying support for the amount of overnights the child stays with them. Yet even if parents share equal custody (the child is with each parent half of the time), a court may still order that one parent pay support to the other, depending on the circumstances of the parents. Those circumstances can include whether one parent earns substantially more than the other parent, the payment of health insurance for the child, and whether one parent is paying more of the everyday expenses for the child. If parents earn almost the same income, they equally divide all of the child's expenses, they provide for the child's everyday expenses at their respective houses, and they have equal time with the child, it may be that the court orders that neither parent pay support to the other; but it is not a given. Each family situation is different and it is up to the court to determine who pays child support to the other and the amount of that support.
Questions about child support or other family law issues should be raised with an experienced family law attorney, like the attorneys at Sandberg Phoenix.
