California parents who are divorcing may need to make decisions about child custody and child support. While several factors are used to determine how much child support a parent receives, some people may think of child support as something that fathers pay to mothers. However, in some cases, mothers may be ordered to pay it to fathers.
Factors such as physical custody, income and expenses all affect how much child support is ordered. The issue of fathers requesting child support from mothers was in the news when the father of Bristol Palin’s second child requested joint custody and child support. The Palin family responded that he had shown no interest in the child during Bristol Palin’s pregnancy and that he should not be asking for support.
Some people might also argue that mothers already give up a great deal. Statistically, women make lower wages than men, and pregnancy and raising children can affect a woman’s career. However, women are not always the primary caregivers and men are not always the breadwinners, and in these situations, men might ask for child support. Furthermore, in some states it is necessary to file for child support in order to access other types of government assistance.
Parents who are divorcing must not only work to preserve their relationship with their children and attempt to make decisions that are in their children’s best interests, but they must also try to cooperate with one another since in many cases they will be co-parenting for years. If the parents can use mediation to come to an agreement about child custody and child support rather than turning to litigation, they may also find it easier to negotiate co-parenting after the divorce. A family law attorney may suggest to a divorcing client that mediation might allow both parents to come up with a unique solution that works for their situation.
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