There is nothing that makes child custody easy. Nothing can be done to remove the pain and distress it can cause. There are, however, ways to make the process just a little more manageable overall. One such way is to differentiate the murky mess of child support from child custody. When the two merge together, there are problems; especially for the father, who has to face enough built-in obstacles and biases already.
Separating Custody from Support
Child support is a very different aspect of family law compared to child custody. Unfortunately, these two elements are often blurred together, and usually for the benefit of one spouse over the other.
How are these two elements of family law separated anyway? The concern here often has to do with child support in a temporary fashion, usually meaning child support as the divorce and child custody process proceeds. Generally speaking, when a “final” child support is set, custody is already set as well.
Temporary child support means the support provided throughout the custody proceedings. It is important the father make these payments. Any non-payment in this matter will potentially be used as a tool against the dad. However unfair and unreasonable it may seem, it pays to pay.
The Child Custody Conversation
Separation of these aspects means knowing what temporary child support does and does not. For one, it is temporary. It should not be taken in regards to the child support. In other words, pay the child support as it goes, but ignore it when talking about custody.
This can be interpreted as a negotiating tactic and it shouldn’t be, as determined by the family law attorney in Lee’s Summit, MO. A judge may claim that a dad is trying to lower his payments by taking on more custody. It sets a dangerous precedent that can be used against a dad.
The matter is incredibly complex, and this is only a broad assessment of the situation. Every case varies. Find a family law attorney in Lee’s Summit, MO that understands the nuances of support and custody today. Contact the Dana Outlaw Law Office for more details and a personal review of the case. You can also visit them on Facebook.
