50/50 Custody Child Support Calculator in Manitoba

When you and your spouse have equal shared custody of your child, you may think that paying child support is unnecessary. That’s familiar misconception parents have about paying child support in Manitoba. However, unless there is an exceptional situation, the higher earning parent will have to pay the income difference.

If there is spousal consent between the parents, shared child custody demands the child be cared for by both the parents. Therefore, even if you have a joint agreement not to pay child support, the judge may not agree to it considering the child’s best interest.

As you understand the necessity of paying child support, we will investigate the 50/50 custody child support calculator in Manitoba. This can help you to determine how much child support you should pay.

Check Your Parenting Status

Before you can determine the child support amount to be paid in Manitoba, you will have to figure out the parenting status the court has decided. For example, in divorce situations, the judge will determine whether you and your spouse are eligible for joint custody or sole custody. In this article, we are mainly talking about joint child custody.

Joint custody means that both the parents have custody of the child. This also means that both parents have physical and legal custody of the child. However, the 50 50 custody can also be considered as joint physical custody. According to the legal system, the child resides with both parents severing the joint tenancy.

The different state uses various systems to determine the child support amount during equal joint custody. In most cases, the income share model is used to determine the amount. This allocates a specific percentage of responsibility to each of the parents. This percent amount is set by analyzing the parents’ income amount and the physical allocation of the child. However, the court usually splits the child support amount equally among the parents.

Furthermore, the parent with a higher income may be considered a non-custodial parent. Therefore, that parent would have to pay the income difference as child support to the other parent. The court decides on such child support amount to be fair to both the parents with their capacity of taking care of their child separately.

Identify the Set-off Amount

When you and your spouse share the custody of your child, the child support amount determination is slightly different. There are several things you have to consider.

First of all, you will have to consider the set-off amount from the table. This amount is the child support amount you would have paid for the child if your spouse had more parenting time than you. By more parenting time, it is meant for you to have no more than 40 percent of the physical custody of the child. After that, you will have to consider how the shared custody has increased the overall cost of the custody agreement.

Finally, it is crucial to identify the other conditions, needs, and child support situations from the shared custody decision. It majorly involves finding the best-suited arrangement for the parents and the child involved.

50/50 Custody Child Support Calculator in Manitoba: The Next Steps

The first task in calculating the child support amount was to identify the table amount. How did you do that? The best way to determine the amount is to figure what each parent was supposed to pay if the child custody decision had been favorable towards any one of the parents.

To find the table amount, you will require to input the annual income of both you and your spouse. For this, the age of both the parents matters a lot. After that, you would have to include all the arrangements of the child’s upbringing and mention the expenses until the child becomes mature age. All this together will determine a net amount of child support for the non-custodial parent to pay. Then, of course, this has to be approved by a judge from the court.

In a 50 50 child custody agreement, the matter is resolved by determining the income difference of the parents. If one parent earns more than the other, he or she is eligible to pay the child support amount. This amount is the difference between the two parties’ table amount calculated in the above paragraph. However, there can be exceptions in particular circumstances or the payment causing unavoidable issues to the parent. Therefore, it is better to understand through a simple example.

For this example, we will consider one child involved where one parent earns more than the other. Parent 1 has an earnings of $100,000, while parent 2 earns $50,000. These are yearly incomes for both the parents. From the Federal Child Support Table, we can identify that parent one would have had a child support amount of $1,416, and parent two would have had an amount of $743. The difference between this amount is $673. As parent 1 has a higher income than parent 2, $673 is the child support amount to be paid by parent 1 to parent 2.

You may like to read: When Does Child Support End in Canada?

Determine If Further Adjustments Are Needed

The previous example is the simplest one possible to understand how the child support amount can be determined in a similar joint custody situation. However, you may still have to consider exceptional circumstances.

If one has filed the divorce, it is almost guaranteed that the court will judge parent one to pay the child support amount before the divorce is accepted. However, the same situation reverses when parent two files for divorce. In that scenario, divorce may still be accepted, and then the child support amount can be determined.

Nevertheless, it is always favorable for the parent to acquire the separation agreement first. Once the child custody decision is out there, it is easier to determine the child support amount. In the case of 50 50 custody, the child support calculation can be affected by how the other parent is taking care of the child differently than the parent who is paying for child support.

Conclusion

Going through all these courts and legal works is one of the most demanding situations of one’s life. Divorce is complicated, child custody is more complex, and determining child support amount in a shared custody situation is the toughest. Several online 50 50 custody child support calculators can assist you in an estimation. However, the best thing to do is seek regular lawyer support and consider settlement through mutual understanding and negotiations.

FAQs:

Do you pay child support if you have 50/50 custody Manitoba?

The issue is settled in a 50/50 child custody arrangement by comparing the parents’ respective incomes. A parent who makes more money than the other is qualified to pay child support.

Who is most likely to get custody of a child?

On average, a female parent receives about 65% of the time spent with their child whereas a male parent only gets about 35%.

Why do courts favor mothers?

There are no longer any laws that give women preferred custody rights. Judges can utilize criteria to decide what is in the children’s best interests. The parent’s gender has no bearing on their choice.

Who claims child benefit in joint custody?

If you and your ex-spouse share custody and are each entitled to claim this sum for your child, only one of you may do so. You and the other parent must decide who will be the one to make the claim; alternatively, you can alternate.