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This page was created on
October 4, 1999
Last changed on January 22, 2003
Roger F. Gay, Project Leader
roger.f.gay@picslt.org
Will reducing child support awards to credit visitation and shared parenting arrangements lead to greater conflict over custody and visitation? There is speculation that credits provide an incentive for parents (usually the mother) to fight for sole custody and against visitation. It has also been speculated that non-custodial parents (usually the father) might fight to increase visitation for the sake of reducing the child support award.
The analysis shows that visitation credits against actual child support do not produce a financial incentive for child support recipients to avoid visitation or for non-custodial parents to increase visitation. If such perverse incentives exist, they are not the fault of credit against actual child support for time children spend with the paying parent.
It is argued that elimination of the profit margin in "child support" awards that resulted from federal family law reform will remove a systemic barrier to greater acceptance of joint custody and greater equity in post divorce parenting.
Sections
1. Introduction
2. Limitations of the Study
3. Method
4. Results
5. Characteristics of the formulae
6. Answering the question
7. Conclusion
8. Citations