Child Support and Split Custody in Arizona

Tue 7th Aug, 2018 Arizona Child Custody Laws

There are times when parents have more than one child and have different parenting time schedules with their children. In these cases, the parent obligated to pay child support spends a different amount of parenting time with each child known as split custody.

The amount of time a parent spends with his or her children has a direct impact on the calculation of child support in Arizona.

The question becomes how should a court calculate child support when a parent is spending a different amount of parenting time with each child. Well, the Arizona Court of Appeals in a published decision in the case of Mitton vs. Mitton answered that question.

In the Mitton case, the parties had three children.

Father had equal parenting time with two of the children, but the third child continued to reside with the mother full time.

At trial, the court performed two child support calculations.

Specifically, the trial court calculated child support for the two children under an equal parenting time schedule and calculated second child support for the child living full time with the mother.

The trial court added the two worksheets together to arrive at a final child support amount.

Father appealed on the basis that he believed the resulting child support amount overstated what he should be paying.

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Applying the Arizona Child Support Guidelines to Calculate Child Support With Split Custody

The Arizona Court of Appeals recognized that a premise of the Arizona Child Support Guidelines is that child support does not increase in proportion to the number of children for whom child support is being paid. Instead, there is only an incremental increase in child support as the number of children subject to the child support order increases.

This is because some of the children’s necessities, such as shelter, do not increase significantly for the custodial parent as more children are included in a child support calculation.

The Arizona Court of Appeals in the Mitton case found the trial court’s use of two separate child support calculations did not take this premise into account and the resulting child support calculation was wrong.

In viewing how other state courts have dealt with this issue, the Arizona Court of Appeals concluded the correct way to calculate child support in Arizona when the parents split custody of the children is to, instead, total the number of days father spends with each child per year, divide that number by the number of children subject to the support order and then add that figure as the average number of parenting time the non-custodial parent spends with the children.

Once that number is calculated, one child support worksheet is used to determine the non-custodial parent’s child support.

The Rule Does Not Apply When the Parents Each Has Custody of a Single Child

Learn How to Calculate Child Support in Arizona When Parents Have Split Custody

It is important to note that this calculation is to be used when parents spend a disproportionate amount of time with at least one of the parents’ children.

The “two child support worksheet” method used by the trial court, in this case, would have been appropriate under the Arizona Child Support Guidelines if each parent had primary physical custody of one child each.

If you have questions about child support and split custody in an Arizona divorce case, you should seriously consider contacting the attorneys at Hildebrand Law, PC. Our Arizona child custody and family law attorneys have decades of combined experience successfully representing clients in child custody and family law cases.

Our family law firm has earned numerous awards such as US News and World Reports Best Arizona Family Law Firm, US News and World Report Best Divorce Attorneys, “Best of the Valley” by Arizona Foothills readers, and “Best Arizona Divorce Law Firms” by North Scottsdale Magazine.

Call us today at (480)305-8300 or reach out to us through our appointment scheduling form to schedule your personalized consultation and turn your Arizona child custody or family law case around today.

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