Every state uses the amount of parenting time to determine the amount of child support.
This means that if a parent wants to change the amount of child support he/she is paying, they need to change the amount of parenting time.
If a mother or father wants to lower the child support payments, the best way to do this is to increase the time of visitation with the child.
The more time a parent has with the children, the less support he/she has to pay.
This also applies to the parent who is receiving child support.
The more time that parent has with the children, the more child support they will receive.
Here are three ways a parent can adjust the parenting time schedule to lower child support payments.
1.
The repeating cycle.
Almost every parenting time schedule has a repeating cycle of custody and visitation.
An easy way to increase the visitation with the children is to add visitation time to this part of the schedule.
This can be done by extending the visits already in the schedule, or by adding additional evening and/or overnight visits.
Even adding an extra two hours a week has a big impact on the parenting time percentage--and this will affect the amount of child support.
2.
Holidays.
The next place to add more time with the children is in the holiday schedule.
First, make sure that the holidays are fairly divided between the parents.
Instead of looking at the name of the holiday, look at the time allocated for each holiday.
Each parent should have close to the same holiday hours.
A parent can lengthen some of the holidays, or ask for more holidays to get more time with the children.
The parents may also want to include school holidays in their schedule so that there are more special occasions.
3.
Vacations.
A third place to look at in the parenting time schedule is the vacation time.
A parent can get more time with the children by requesting extra time during spring and summer break, and also by taking vacation time with the children.
If a parent isn't able to name the exact dates of vacation, an unspecified vacation can be added to the schedule.
An unspecified vacation is a clause that states that both parents can take the children on vacation for so many days during the year.
This can increase the parenting time.
While creating and adjusting the parenting time schedule, the parents should focus on what the children need.
The idea is to have more time with the children to balance out the lower child support payments.
This is better for the children because the children will have both parents involved in their lives.