Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Court-ordered child maintenance is paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed. Often the obligor is a non-custodial parent. The obligee is typically a custodial parent, a caregiver, or a guardian.
Depending on the jurisdiction, a custodial parent may pay child support to a non-custodial parent. Typically one has the same duty to pay child support irrespective of sex, so a mother is required to pay support to a father just as a father must pay a mother. In some jurisdictions where there is joint custody, the child is considered to have two custodial parents and no non-custodial parents, and a custodial parent with a higher income (obligor) may be required to pay the other custodial parent (obligee). In other jurisdictions, and even with legally shared residence, unless they can prove exactly equal contributions, one parent will be deemed the non-resident parent for child support and will have to pay the other parent a proportion of their income; the "resident" parent's income or needs are not assessed.
Child support is often arranged as part of a single parent, divorce, marital separation, annulment, determination of parentage or dissolution of a civil union and may supplement alimony (spousal support) arrangements.Definition of child support: "Child support is the legal right of a child to receive financial support from their parents. That right exists whether or not the child's parents were ever married and whether or not they ever lived together. That right continues until the child turns 19 years old. If the child is still dependent at age 19 or older - owing to illness or disability, or because the child is still in school, for example - then the right to financial support will continue." British Columbia Attorney General, CanadaDefinition of child support: "Financial support paid by a parent to help support a child or children of whom they do not have custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court or a properly empowered administrative agency, depending on each State's laws." OSCE, USA "What is child support? When parents separate, they need to make financial arrangements for their children. How they do this depends on when they separated and when their children were born." Australian Child Support Agency "Child support is money paid by parents who are not living with their children to help financially support their children" New Zealand Inland Revenue "Child maintenance is money paid when parents live apart...the parent with whom the child does not live is responsible for paying child maintenance." UK CSA "Every child has the right to basic necessities...Children should get these basic needs from their parents or relatives...This support given by parents or relatives is called maintenance." Western Cape governmental information service, South Africa
The right to child support and the responsibilities of parents to provide such support have been internationally recognized. The 1992 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a binding convention signed by every member nation of the United Nations and formally ratified by all but the United States.United Nations Treaty Collection. Convention on the Rights of the Child . Retrieved 21 May 2009. It declares that the upbringing and development of children and a standard of living adequate for the children's development is a common responsibility of both parents and a fundamental human right for children, and asserts that the primary responsibility to provide such for the children rests with their parents. Convention on the Rights of the Child Other United Nations documents and decisions related to child-support enforcement include the 1956 New York Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance created under the auspices of the United Nations, which has been ratified by the 64 of the UN member states."Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance" United Nations, New York, 20 June 1956
In addition, the right to child support, as well as specific implementation and enforcement measures, has been recognized by various other international entities, including the Council of Europe,Recommendation 869 on payment by the state of advances on child maintenance 1979, Council of Europe the European UnionMaintenance claims across the EU European Commission and the Hague Conference.Convention of 2 October 1973 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions relating to Maintenance Obligations" The Hague Conference, 1973
Within individual countries, examples of legislation pertaining to, and establishing guidelines for, the implementation and collection of child maintenance include the 1975 Family Law Act (Australia), the Child Support Act (United Kingdom)Child Support Act 1991, Office of Public Sector Information, UK and the Maintenance and Affiliation Act (Fiji). Child support in the United States, 45 C.F.R. 302.56 requires each state to establish and publish a Guideline that is presumed correct (but rebuttable), and Review the Guideline, at a minimum, every four years. Child-support laws and obligations are known to be recognized in a vast majority of world nations, including the majority of countries in Europe, North America and Australia, as well as many in Africa, Asia and South America.List of countries with reciprocal child support enforcement policies U.S. Department of StateList of REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders) reciprocating countries UK Child Support Agency"Statutes in all countries in the region provide that a man must support his legitimate and illegitimate children" (pertaining to Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana) "Payments for Child Support in Southern Africa: Using Law to Promote Family Planning". Alice Armstrong, Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug., 1992), pp. 217-228
Legal theory Child support is based on the policy that both parents are obliged to financially support their children, even when the children are not living with both parents. Child support includes the financial support of children and not other forms of support, such as emotional support, intellectual support, physical care, or spiritual support.
When children live with both parents, courts rarely, if ever, direct the parents on how to provide financial support for their children. However, when the parents are not together, courts often order one parent to pay the other an amount set as financial support for the child. In such situations, one parent (the obligee) receives child support, and the other parent (the obligor) is ordered to pay child support. The amount of child support may be set on a case-by-case basis or by a formula estimating the amount thought that parents should pay to financially support their children.
Child support may be ordered to be paid by one parent to another when one is a non-custodial parent and the other is a custodial parent. Similarly, child support may also be ordered to be paid by one parent to another when both parents are custodial parents (joint or shared custody) and they share the child-raising responsibilities. In some cases, a parent with sole custody of their children may even be ordered to pay child support to the non-custodial parent to support the children while they are in the care of that parent.
Child support paid by a non-custodial parent or obligor does not absolve the obligor of the responsibility for costs associated with their child staying with the obligor in their home during visitation. For example, if an obligor pays child support to an obligee, this does not mean that the obligee is responsible for food, shelter, furniture, toiletries, clothes, toys or games, or any of the other child expenses directly associated with the child staying with the non-custodial parent or obligor.
In most jurisdictions, there is no need for the parents to be married, and only paternity and/or maternity (filiation) need to be demonstrated for a child-support obligation to be found by a competent court. Child support may also operate through the principle of estoppel where a de facto parent that is in loco parentis for sufficient time to establish a permanent parental relationship with the child or children.Chapter 8 - Paternity Establishment U.S Administration for Children & Families
Canadian courts differ in that the "Divorce Act" sets out in detail, the financial responsibilities of the "Non-Custodial" parent whilst the "Custodial" parent's responsibilities are not mentioned. Consequently, Canadian courts limit themselves to dividing the "Non-Custodial" parents income and providing it to the "Custodial" parent. While the courts recognize that the child has an "expectation of support from both parents", there is no legal precedent under the "Divorce Act" indicating that the "Custodial" parent has any obligation to support the child. In addition, courts have vehemently opposed any attempt by "Non-Custodial" parents to ensure "Child Support" is actually used for the child.
Child support vs. contact While the issues of child support and visitation or contact may be decided in the same divorce or paternity settlement, in most jurisdictions the two rights and obligations are completely separate and individually enforceable. Custodial parents may not withhold contact to "punish" a noncustodial parent for failing to pay some or all child support required. Conversely, a noncustodial parent is required to pay child support even if they are partially or fully denied contact with the child. Furthermore, child support is established between parents also if joint custody is awarded, but the child spends most of the time with one of the parents.
Additionally, a non-custodial parent is responsible for child-support payments even if they do not wish to have a relationship with the child. Courts have maintained that a child's right to financial support from parents supersedes an adult's wish not to assume a parenting role.
While child support and contact are separate issues, in some jurisdictions, the latter may influence the former. In the United Kingdom, for example, the amount of support ordered may be reduced based on the number of nights per week the child regularly spends at the support-giving parent's home.Child support fact sheet UK CSA
Use of child support payments Most international and national child-support regulations recognize that every parent has an obligation to support their child. Under this obligation, both parents are expected to share the responsibility for their child(ren)'s expenses. What differs between jurisdictions is which "expenses" are covered by "Child Support" and which are "Extraordinary" and fall outside the definition of "Child Support".
Support moneys collected are often assumed to be used for the child's expenses, such as food, clothing, and ordinary educational needs, but that is not required. Under California law, for example, child-support money may be used to "improve the standard of living of the custodial household" and the recipient does not have to account for how the money is spent.