Do Dads Ever Get Child Support?
A November 2023 report found that more than 4.1 million parents across the United States received child support payments during 2022. The "average" monthly child support payment is $441, but this amount varies widely from state to state and from one situation to another. The report found that it is almost as likely for custodial fathers to receive child support as custodial mothers (43 percent vs. 46 percent).
Custodial fathers had a higher rate of never receiving a single child support payment and were also more likely to receive non-cash support, such as diapers, clothing, payments to daycare, payments for medical expenses, etc. If you and your spouse are navigating custody and child support issues, having an experienced divorce attorney as your legal advocate is beneficial.
Is It More Likely for Mothers to Be Designated as the Custodial Parent?
The study above found that it was almost as likely for custodial fathers to receive child support as for custodial mothers. The study made no note of whether it is equally likely for a father to receive primary custody as for a mother. While these statistics are hard to come by, a 2021 Bloomberg article found that mothers are the designated custodial parent about 65 percent of the time, with fathers at only 35 percent.
Why Do More Mothers Have Primary Custody?
One of the biggest reasons mothers have primary custody more often than fathers is that the mothers request primary custody more often. Whether this has to do with gender stereotypes, with the fact that the mother may have been the primary caregiver during the marriage, or whether it has to do with the types of jobs the fathers or mothers have is unknown.
Many fathers who were not the primary caregivers during the marriage may feel they are ill-equipped for the job. Children need their father in their lives as much as they need their mother. Each parent provides unique parenting benefits, so it is virtually always better for children to spend time with both parents (barring issues with the child’s safety).
Since there are increasingly more stay-at-home dads who care for the children during the marriage while the mother works, these dads are more likely to ask for primary custody. This is especially true when the mother has a very demanding job with irregular hours. The father may want to continue caring for the children just as he did during the marriage. In this case, he would almost certainly be awarded child support.
How is Child Support Calculated?
Child support is calculated differently from state to state. Some states arbitrarily set the amount of support based on the number of children. Other states have a much more sophisticated calculation that includes the number of children, the net income and expenses of each parent, each parent’s health and ability to care for the children, and whether a child has special needs.
Expenses such as health insurance, daycare costs, medical expenses, and any other known expenses that a child will have are factored into the total amount of child support when possible. In some situations, parents may divorce when the child is young, so the child's needs can change dramatically, resulting in the necessity of child support modification. A modification requires the parent to ask for more child support based on substantial changes for the child that require additional support.
Contact an Experienced Father’s Rights Divorce Lawyer
It can be difficult to go through a divorce, and when you end up seeing your children significantly less than you did while married, it can be devastating. A father has the same rights as a mother in receiving primary physical custody of the child and child support.
Judges care only about the child's best interests and will consider these best interests when making custody decisions. Having a knowledgeable divorce attorney who will fight for your rights as a father will help you and your children get through this difficult time in the best possible way.
