Custody and Child Support

The Responsibilities of the Custodial Parent If you are the custodial parent, you will be spending more time than your ex-spouse does getting the kids off to school; buying their clothes; and taking them to the doctor and dentist, after-school a...

Managing Visitation in High-Conflict Situations Evan: I can't take it anymore! Every time I get ready to go over to my Dad's, Mom tells me to make sure to tell Dad he owes her two months' support! Then, Dad tells me to bring a message to my mom...

Age-Appropriate Visitation It's a famous biblical story: Two women were fighting over a baby each claimed as her own. Wise King Solomon had the women brought before him. Appearing to rule fairly, he ordered that the baby be cut in half, with one...

Joint or Sole Custody? For the sake of the children, the goals of divorcing parents should be the same: involvement of both parents in the lives of the children and mitigation of conflict between the parents. These two factors should dominate al...

Negotiating Custody At first, the very concept of negotiating custody might seem alien. When you were a family unit, you both had custody—although you probably never thought of it that way. You were just your children's parents, nothing more, ...

A Closer Look at State Child Support Guidelines According to the American Bar Association, “the starting point for determining child support usually is the state's guideline or a formula that considers the income of the parents, the number of ...

The Responsibilities of the Noncustodial Parent You Can Do It! Spending quality time with your children is the greatest gift you can give them. Communicating in a genuine way—really listening to them—will not only solidify your relationship...

Custody questions should be addressed on an individual basis. ...

Try to reach a compromise with your former spouse when changing circumstances dictate a new approach to visitation rights. ...

Here are some ideas in the area of custody laws and homeschooling. ...

Child Support: What's Fair? If you and your spouse believe you can reach a settlement, how do you determine what's in your child's best interest but also fair to both of you? It's not easy, but you can do it. To Settle or Not to Settle? That Is ...

Kids and CustodyA Dad's DilemmaMichael P. remembers the day he went over to his estranged wife's apartment to pick up his son Tommy at the end of a weekend visit. Tommy's mother was passed out in bed, even at midday. The boy sat alone watching c...

A mother fears for the safety of her teen daughters when they visit their bipolar dad. ...

Making Joint Custody WorkIt's a known fact that most kids don't have an easy time dealing with their parents' divorce. But parents can make the situation a bit more bearable, especially when it comes to cooperating in a joint physical custody arr...

Direct vs Indirect Child Support: Which Is Right for You? Child support comes in two flavors—direct and indirect. Child support is when one parent pays support to the other parent directly on a regular basis—every week, every other week, or ...

Sharing Joint CustodyFlashback to 1970:Couple calls it quits. Mom gets the kids. Dad pays child support.Fast forward to today:Mom and Dad divorce. Mom and Dad split custody 50-50. Kids gets two homes.Unlike Kramer vs. Kramer, the landmark 1979 f...

Kids from a divorced family are best served by as much love and contact they can get from both parents. ...

A father is disappointed and hurt when his daughter changes her mind about a custody decision. ...