Walk It Through: The Parenting Schedule
Equal time as the starting point, an allegation of abuse, a support order, and a raise a year later.
Separating parents of a young child each want the child most of the time.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
Two parents and one child. Relocation, de facto custodians, and support after a parent's death are not walked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- De facto custodianA person a court finds by clear and convincing evidence was a child's primary caregiver and financial supporter, given the same standing in custody as a parent.
- Material change in circumstancesA substantial and continuing change that allows child support to be modified, presumed where the guidelines change the monthly amount by fifteen percent or more.