You are divorcing. You have children. The ex-spouse who before had little interest in the children is now vying for custody. They may be aware that child support will increase if the first person is granted custody. The person who is always raising children receives the most help. The parent having the least amount of time with the children should be supporting them. Having children entails consumption. You need support. Your ex fights for full custody in Michigan to avoid child support.
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Before deciding on child support, the court will make custody determinations. Before deciding who is responsible for what expenses, the court will establish where the children will live. The other parent may be granted custody by the court. That parent will receive support. The paying parent will continue to make support payments. Even if the receiving parent makes more money. In a marriage, one partner looks after the children. The other partner works to generate enough money to sustain them. Since they are your children, you will continue to support them even after your divorce. If you do the math, you are still paying the same amount as before.
What are custody, parenting time, and child support?
Child support and spousal support are not the same thing. Concerning spousal support, spouses may haggle. Child support must be paid. You may still end up paying for child support even if your co-parent earns more. However, you cannot talk about not supplying it or paying for it. You can only talk about proportion and sharing. Child support is often given to the parent with custody. Make sure to consult an experienced Michigan family law attorney when it comes to child custody, parenting time, and child support.
Child custody
Couples who started the process for child custody should know by now that there are two types of custody. They will have to work on getting legal and physical custody. Legal custody entails having the authority to decide on issues. Issues that matter for your children. Such issues include education, their religion if any, and their main medical care. Living arrangements for the children are referred to as physical custody. Sole custody indicates that just one parent has custody. Joint custody means both parents share custody. The parents share custody when they have joint custody. Joint legal custody of their children forces the co-parents to make key choices together. Children who have joint physical custody spend some time with each parent.
Parenting time
Parents may not be sharing a house. The time a child spends with each parent is parenting time in Michigan. A party may be granted primary physical custody. That parent often receives a significant amount of parenting time. The other parent receives less. Shared physical custody does not entail equal parenting time. It often does or comes close to it. There is what we call “reasonable parenting time.” Parents agree on parenting time as they go without regard to a set timetable. Parenting time might be allowed for specified dates and times. There can be a dispute about reasonable parenting time. If the dispute persists, submit a request to the court asking the judge to decide the issue.
Child support
We often forget that child support is a court order. It is a court-mandated arrangement. It is an amount paid to the custodial parent by the non-custodial parent. The child support amount is determined based on many factors. The obligation to pay child support can change over time. There is a process to allow the modification of child support. Raising a child costs a lot. The child support payments help to somewhat offset the costs of raising a child. These expenses include the cost of housing, food, clothes, healthcare, and education. Child care expenses are also covered by child support payments. It takes the following into account:
- Parents’ combined income.
- The number of children.
- The number of overnight stays each parent has.
There is not always a perfect correlation between child custody, parenting time, and child support. In some situations, even when both parents share physical custody, only one of the parents is responsible for paying child support. There are also situations where parents share legal custody yet a co-parent has sole physical custody.
Why would your ex-spouse fight for full custody in Michigan now?
Not to be judgmental but your ex-spouse may have very legitimate reasons to ask for full custody in Michigan. You’ll never know. Your ex-spouse may be leisurely enjoying ice cream and had an epiphany about parent-child relationships. Maybe your ex-spouse saw that final moment with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in the Death Star. Let’s keep an open mind and look at some reasons:
They may have met someone new who wants to be a parent
Your spouse has met someone new. This someone new opened the world to the joy of having children. They may have decided that they want to be parents themselves. This new partner may be pressuring your spouse to get custody of your children. Take your children so they can start a family together. This is not a very virtuous reason but honest. Sincerely,
They may be feeling guilty about their lack of involvement in the children’s lives
Your spouse may have been absent from the children’s lives for a while. Your spouse is feeling guilty about this. Your spouse decides to be more involved. This may be especially true if your spouse has been seeing your children less. Maybe even less in recent months (or years). Guilt can give you a nudge sometimes to make life-changing decisions. Of course, you would have appreciated it more if your spouse did this before you filed the divorce papers.
They may have changed their mind about their priorities
It is also possible that your spouse had a mind shift. A total about-face of their priorities. Your spouse now believes that they want to be more involved in their children’s lives. Your spouse may have real reasons. Like a change in their job, a change in their health, or a change in their personal circumstances.
Your ex-spouse may be trying to gain leverage in the divorce negotiations
Maybe your ex-spouse is simply back to the old self of being manipulative. Your ex-spouse knows you are concerned about your ability to care for the children. Now your ex-spouse may use this as a way to get you to agree. To conform to more favorable terms in other areas of the divorce. This could be in property division or alimony. Your ex-spouse may threaten to take you to court for full custody in Michigan. Imposing a condition if you don’t agree to give them more money in the divorce.
You’re right. Your ex-spouse wants to avoid paying child support
Your ex-spouse might be misinformed. Your ex-spouse could believe that by having children, there will no longer be a need to pay child support. More so now, your ex-spouse is considering the possibility of obtaining child support. Your ex-spouse needs a strong admonition from a lawyer about this.
Your spouse may not have been involved in the children’s lives for much. It may be difficult for your ex-spouse to get custody. The court will want to see if your ex-spouse is committed to being a parent. Your ex-spouse may have to provide a stable and loving home for the children.
What is the cost of raising a child today?
Child support costs are better appreciated if you have context. The best context is having awareness of how much it costs to raise a child today in the United States. Estimating and comprehending the continuing expenditures of raising children is challenging. In the U.S., the annual cost of raising a child is an average of $20,813. Parents can prepare financial plans with more awareness. Parents should anticipate having to pay for a child’s yearly needs. Considering the costs of food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and other needs.
Look at it from a two-adult household adding a child. A study was conducted to assess the cost of raising one child in 381 metro regions across the country. The study was initiated by SmartAsset Advisors, LLC (“SmartAsset”). A wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Insight Technology, an investment adviser. SmartAsset ranked fifteen metro areas in the U.S. in early 2023. The top-ranked metro areas are San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley in California.
These metro areas have an annual cost of raising a child at $$35,647. Childcare costs around $16,317. Food at $2,111. Housing at $10,499. Our own Ann Arbor ranks 6th with the annual cost of raising a child at around $31,670. Childcare at $22,154. Food at $1,807 and housing at $2,580.
The key findings of the survey
Information from the MIT Living Wage Calculator is used by SmartAsset. The cost of living for a household of two adults and one child was compared by SmartAsset. They contrasted it with one that is childless. Housing, food, and daycare costs are considered in the analysis. Healthcare, transportation, and other essentials specific to each metro region were also included in the costs. The research was conducted using up-to-date data through 2022. The following is a list of the analysis’ main findings:
- It should come as no surprise to you that childcare consumes the majority of the family budget. This includes many other household expenses. The typical cost of child care is $9,051. It makes up over half of the typical annual expense of raising a child. In Sumter, SC, childcare expenses are only $4,807, whereas they can be as high as $22,154 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Couples in the U.S. with one child spend $3,407 more on housing than couples without children. Around the Santa Cruz metro area, the highest yearly housing expenditure is at $12,636. Housing costs a fraction of that amount annually in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
- A child’s yearly food expenses are around $1,768 to $2,111. Prices vary according to area. The annual average is $1,890. The cost of transportation is slightly higher at $2,116.
Statistics are telling us that it will not be any easier for parents. It gets even worse when parents are separated. Having a child is obviously expensive, regardless of where you live. Money starts to come out of your account as soon as a pregnancy test and a visit to the doctor confirm what you are expecting. As they become older, the cost of their clothing, shoes, food, diapers, doctor appointments, and other necessities only increases.
Will your ex-spouse pay less for having full custody in Michigan of a child or more parenting time?
Parenting time is a criterion taken into account for determining child support. It is not the sole element in determining whether or not to pay. Child support and parenting time are independent considerations. Both contribute to your child’s best interests. They are not mutually exclusive. To protect your children’s interests, you must have both. Child support ensures both parents provide for the financial needs of their children. Child support orders are required in every custody case. It is so unless support has already been resolved in a related matter.
Enforce both child support and parenting time
The parent who gets more time with the children usually pays the one who gets less time. Both parents are likely to spend time caring for the children. The gender of a parent is irrelevant to the courts. The Friend of the Court (FOC) office handles the enforcement of child support orders. You are still obligated to pay child support even if the other parent ignores a parenting time order. You must abide by parenting time orders even if the other parent doesn’t pay support.
Keep communication open to ease modification later
Remember that paying child support helps you provide for your children. When you refuse to pay child support, it affects your children’s lives. If you are having problems paying your child’s support, let the other parent know straight away. Communicate with the other parent. It can make asking for a change in support much simpler.
You can always ask for modification
You can file a motion to do so. Give notice if the other party won’t agree to a modification of the child support arrangement. You may need one. The ability to change child support became available on this day. This suggests that the court may modify the child support order retroactively. It begins on the date the motion was submitted and notice was served on the opposing party.
Child-related expenses include those needed to support and raise children. You are required to pay child support since you are the one who brought your children into this world, even if you don’t want to be involved in their lives. Regardless of whether you actually get engaged in their lives or choose to keep out of them, you will still need to support them financially. We are telling you that you must pay up.
Will your ex-spouse have to pay child support if you earn more?
You must continue paying child support even if the court awards joint custody. The amount of child support due is determined by certain variables. Take into account how much time each parent spends with the children. The expense of raising children is significant. In shared custody, these expenses must be distributed equally between the parents. The financial support for a child’s upbringing comes from both parents. Even if you make more money or have fewer costs than the other parent. You may still be obliged to pay child support. Even if your child spends less than half of the time with you, you must still pay child support. A child resides with one parent for more than 50% of the time. The other parent is not required to pay child support. You might have a shared custody arrangement with 50/50 custody. Child support calculations will look at each parent’s income. These calculations will determine who will be responsible for paying child support. How much each will pay?
Usually, the noncustodial parent gives the custodial parent child support. But on occasion, both parents may decide not to pay child support. Both parents may be sharing equal parenting time already. They may not even be financially dependent on one another. In certain situations, it’s possible that the two parents have already agreed. Both have conformed to a split in the cost of raising the children. The court may still order child support even if both parents concur that it is not required. The individual circumstances of each family will determine whether to pay child support. You should consult your child support attorney in Michigan.
Do it before you make any changes to your child support arrangement. There’s a possibility that both of you will make a decision to modify it. Child support is made up of a variety of special components. What advantages are available and how are they calculated? Parents need to be aware of all these. A knowledgeable child support attorney can assist if you’re uncertain. It’s possible that your ex-spouse does not know what is best for your children.
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