Newsletters

Temporary Child Support Awards

Many states provide for temporary awards of child support, pending a full evidentiary hearing after the parties have had a chance to obtain necessary information to establish the income of each parent and expenses of the child or children. Temporary support may be ordered in some situations before there is a paternity adjudication.

Parental Support of Disabled Adult Children

A parent's child support obligation may not terminate when the child attains the age of majority. If an adult child cannot be self supporting due to a disability, the state may require that child support be continued.

Joint Physical Custody Awards

In most states, "joint physical custody" means that each of the parents shall have significant periods of physical custody of a child. Joint physical custody is shared by the parents in such a way so as to assure the child of frequent and continuing contact with both parents. It does not require that both parents have equal time with the child.

Legal Custody versus Physical Custody

There is a large difference between legal custody of a child and physical custody. That difference is based on the right to make the major decisions affecting the child. The parent with legal custody has the right to make those decisions.

Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act

Problems arise where a parent and a child do not reside in the same state. To deal with jurisdictional problems in establishing and enforcing child support obligations, the federal government enacted the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act in the 1950s. Although it has been mostly replaced by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, enacted in 1998, URESA still applies in some situations.