Child support with joint custody in Nevada is a unique issue for families. Calculating support in cases of sole custody is relatively simple. However, the question becomes more complex when the parties share physical custody. How does child support work with joint custody in Nevada? Here’s what you need to know from our Nevada child support attorneys.
How child support works with joint custody in Nevada is by offsetting the amount of support that each parent would pay to each other and having the higher-earning parent pay the difference. To determine child support in a joint custody case in Nevada, you calculate support for each parent as though the other parent had sole custody. Then, you offset the two amounts. The parent paying the higher amount gets a reduction by the amount that they would receive.
How child support works with joint custody in Nevada is the original calculation of support amounts [1] for each parent, followed by an offset of the two amounts to reach the final payment amount.
Here is how child support is calculated in Nevada with joint custody:
Who pays child support in joint custody in Nevada depends on which parent has the higher gross income. Either party might pay child support in joint custody in Nevada, or neither party might pay child support.
Nevada law requires the court to order an amount of at least $100 per month in all cases. Typically, who pays child support in joint custody in Nevada [2] is the parent with more gross income. However, the paying parent receives an offset based on the gross income of the other parent.
For example, parents Taylor and Jordan have one child. Taylor makes $50,000 per year. Jordan makes $30,000 per year. They have joint physical custody with equal parenting time. For one child, the standard child support payment is 18% of gross income. 18% of gross income $50,000 is $9,000 or $750 per month.
Similarly, 18% of $30,000 is $5,400 per year or $450 per month. The difference between $750 per month and $450 per month is $300. In this scenario, Taylor pays Jordan $300 per month. Even where parents have very similar incomes, the court must order one parent to pay the other $100 per month unless the paying parent is not capable of making the payments.
Joint custody child support Nevada is the way to apportion funds when parents share physical custody. In joint custody situations, both parents have significant day-to-day expenses in caring for the child. In fact, the costs of raising a child in two separate households may be higher than the costs of raising a child in one home.
The purpose of joint custody child support in Nevada is to account for all of these needs. The courts want to apportion funds to provide for the needs of the child while ensuring that the child has a roughly similar standard of living in both households.
It’s important to remember that the rules for joint custody apply in cases of joint physical custody. Physical custody is who provides daily care for the child. Physical custody is not the same thing as joint legal custody.
For joint custody rules to apply to the child support calculation, the joint custody must be physical custody or roughly equal parenting time. It’s not uncommon for parents to share joint legal custody without sharing joint physical custody. To know whether shared custody child support calculation laws apply, you must start with determining if the parents have joint or shared custody.
You have joint custody in Nevada if you have at least 40 percent of the parenting time. The courts calculate parenting time by looking at the number of overnights that the child spends with each parent. If you take physical care of the child at least 40 percent of the overnights or 146 overnights each year, you may have joint physical custody for the purpose of determining child support. The Nevada Supreme Court case that established 40 percent as the minimum for joint custody is Rivero v. Rivero [3] from 2009.
It’s up to the judge to decide if you have joint physical custody. Even if you have care of the child 40 percent of the time or more, the court might decide it’s not appropriate to use the shared formula for child support. Ultimately, the court is allowed to consider all of the relevant circumstances. It’s important not to make assumptions about how the court might rule. You should carefully prepare your case to present to the court.
If you’re establishing custody for the first time, it’s important to be aware of how child support works in joint custody situations. Once an order is in place, the child custody order can only be modified for a good cause. It’s critical to know how any custody agreements you make might impact child support. An experienced child support attorney for joint custody cases can help you understand the effect of any proposed custody agreement on your child support obligation.
Read More: How to Modify a Nevada Child Custody Order
Do you have questions about child support? Are you wondering how joint custody might impact child support? Our attorneys can help. We’re Nevada’s child support attorneys. We can represent your interests and fight for the best interests of your child.
We know that child support is complicated. Let our attorneys fight for you. Call us today for your free consultation.
[1] NRS 125B.070
[2] NRS 125B.030
[3] Demaree, Lindsay, “Summary of Rivero v. Rivero, 124 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 84 ” (2008). Nevada Supreme Court Summaries. Paper 397. https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/nvscs/397/
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