Child support can be a contentious topic in any situation. The very concept of one parent paying the other after a divorce often leads to feelings of fairness in child support cases on one or both sides. While child support is traditionally thought of as being paid by the father to the mother, more and more couples today have shared parenting and joint custody arrangements that may result in the father receiving the child support instead. Single fathers also usually have child support orders in place where the other parent is paying.
While the courts would say that there is no prejudice or discrimination based on gender of the parent in cases involving child custody or child support, this isn’t always the case. There is still the lingering stereotype in many areas that the mother should have primary custody or that fathers should be grateful if they manage to get a shared parenting arrangement.
Who is awarded custody of the children or what the visitation schedule is in a shared parenting arrangement is a large factor in the determination of the amount and payor of the child support order. Having legal representation who can fight for your rights as a father is crucial.
At Scott M. Brown & Associates, we work to ensure that gender discrimination does not become an issue in your case. We believe that fathers should be on equal footing as mothers when it comes to deciding who is best suited to be the primary custodian. We have a history of helping fathers in all kinds of family law situations and can give you more information on your options.
