Vol. 11, No. 2, Pg. 14. Understanding the New Child Support Guidelines.

AuthorBy Melissa F. Brown

South Carolina Lawyer

1999.

Vol. 11, No. 2, Pg. 14.

Understanding the New Child Support Guidelines

14UNDERSTANDING THE NEW CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINESBy Melissa F. BrownOn March 26, South Carolina adopted new Child Support Guidelines that significantly change the 1994 version. This article provides practitioners with a comparison of the old and new Guidelines. It also attempts to explain the intricacies of the new child support calculations and to point out areas for possible future litigation.

SHARED CUSTODY GUIDELINES

The biggest change to the old Guidelines (and the change with the most potential for litigation) is the creation of the shared custody guidelines. Shared custody situations occur when each parent cares for the child(ren) a minimum of 110 overnights per year. (Shared Parenting Arrangement. (Paragraph IV. A.)). This addition recognizes shared parenting scenarios, but the new provision is only

advisory and not compulsory, [and] [t]he Court should consider each case individually before applying this adjustment to insure that it does not place an undue hardship on the custodial parent or have substantial negative effect on the child(ren)'s standard of living. For the purpose of this section, shared physical custody means that each parent has court ordered visitation with the children overnight for more than 109 nights overnight each year (30 percent), and that both parents contribute to the expenses of the child(ren) in addition to the payment of child support .... Id. (emphasis added).

"[T]his adjustment is made only on an annual basis and should not be used when the proportion of overnights exceeds 30 percent for a shorter period, e.g., a month." The shared parenting arrangement also creates the first definition of "legal custody," and it creates a distinction between legal and physical custody. "[L]egal custody" is defined as "decision-making authority with respect to the child(ren)." In addition, "[i]f the 109 overnights threshold is reached for sharedphysicalcustody, this adjustment may be applied even if one parent has sole legal custody." (emphasis added).

The shared custody guidelines may have a tremendous impact on child custody litigation. If the payor parent has over 109 overnights and contributes to the child(ren)'s expenses, the shared custody guidelines will probably apply. Rather than fighting over who actually has "custody," parents will fight over whether weekend visitation ends Sunday night or Monday morning,

16whether weekday visitation includes a sleep over or how many weeks each parent will have with the child(ren) in the summer. Other arguments may arise over whether the payor parent in a shared custody situation is paying enough of the child's expenses for the shared custody guidelines to apply.

North Carolina's Child Support Guidelines provide more guidance to practitioners giving them a clearer understanding of when...

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