Last updated on April 8, 2021
Spouses who are working on a parenting plan as they go through a divorce in Georgia may find it difficult to agree as to the amount of time each of them get to spend with their child. In addition to the hard feelings of the breakup, one parent may believe that the other’s parenting style is unsatisfactory and wish the child to spend less time with that parent. However, the National Conference of Legislatures provides information indicating that a child with adequate time to develop a strong parent-child bond with the noncustodial parent typically has better financial support as well as emotional health.
Statistics show that when noncustodial parents are allowed to spend more time with their children, they are more likely to make their child support payments in full. When parents are not able to maintain or develop a relationship with their child, they often become less committed to their responsibility to pay the amount the court has determined is necessary for the child’s well-being. Therefore, other than cases involving abuse, the child’s needs are best met through a parenting plan that is as generous as possible to the noncustodial parent.
Although the federal government requires every state to have child support guidelines, the way these are applied varies. According Georgia’s Child Support Recovery Act, the amount of child support a noncustodial parent pays is determined by a number of factors, one of which is parenting time. The Georgia Child Support Commission is committed to further considerations of the benefits of using parenting time as a factor to ensure that these are fair to both parents and children.
