Does Joint Custody or Frequent Visitation Lesson the Support Obligations of the Non-Custodial Parent? 

This is a frequently asked question, and answer may surprise you.  The answer is “no”; and there have been numerous cases that have tried to argue this fact.  See Marriage of DeMattia, 302 Ill.App.3d 390, 706 N.E. 2d 67, 235 Ill.Dec. 807 (4th Dist. 1999), the ruling found that a joint custodial father with extended visitation is not necessarily entitled to a deviation from child support guidelines.  The opinion was that there should be no automatic downward deviation from the guidelines just because the non-residential parent cared for the children for 8 hours on 10 out of 14 days.  Caring for one’s own children is not daycare and the parent has no reason to be compensated.

See Marriage of Andersen, No. 2-99-0676, Rule 23 (2d Dist. 2000), applied the principles of DeMattia and held, this case argued that the non-custodial father incurred additional expenses exercising his visitation rights and wanted these expenses to be factored into his child support order.  The court determined that gifts are not a substitute for the duty to provide for the child’s basic needs.

See Also:

Split Custody and its Impact on Child Support 

If and When does Child Support Include Post High School Education