How Parenting Time Affects Child Support Payments in Arizona

Child custody and child support are among the most complex and contentious decisions that can be made when it comes to a child. Don’t stress: the skilled family law attorneys at The Valley have you covered.

Learn how parenting time and child custody go hand in hand – and what you can do to boost your chances of securing a decision in your favor.

Defining Child Custody in Arizona

In Arizona, the terminology used to describe child custody is different from that in other states. Here, child custody is broken down into two categories called “decision-making rights” and “parenting time.” Decision-making rights (“legal custody” in other states) cover parents’ rights to make crucial decisions about medical care, schooling, religion, and more about their child. Parenting time (“physical custody in other states) refers to a set of decisions that covers where a child will live and other related issues, like visitation time, scheduling, and more.

Parenting time is especially important when it comes to determining how parents should be contributing to child-rearing expenses. Because calculating child support can be complicated, understanding how parenting time affects child support in Arizona and how to calculate child support payments is crucial.

Child Support Calculations in Arizona

Many factors affect how child support is calculated.

Some of these factors are:

While all of these factors are important, parenting time plays an important role in deciding child support because no matter who the child is with, their financial needs must be met. In most cases, the noncustodial parent, or parent who has the child less than 50% of the time, will be paying child support. In general, the more time they have with the child, the lower their child support might be. However, it’s important to point out that each of the above factors contributes to this decision.

What Is Parenting Time in Arizona?

Divorcing parents and other parents who wish to establish child support must create a parenting plan to help decide how to divide the child’s time between the parents. According to ARS §25-401(5), parenting time is the schedule that determines when and how long a child will spend time with each parent. According to Arizona law, while the child is with one parent, that parent is responsible for feeding, clothing, sheltering, and making routine decisions for the child.

When deciding parenting time, Arizona courts will prioritize what is in the child’s best interest.

Other factors that might influence the decision are: 

Arizona does not favor one gender over the other. If you have further questions about the Arizona child support parenting time impact, our parenting time breakdown might be useful.

How Parenting Time Affects Child Support in Arizona

Arizona has specific child support guidelines to help the court calculate payments as fairly as possible. Federal law requires each state to create comprehensive guidelines and to make any decisions based on the best interests of the child. Once the parenting time schedule has been established, the court uses it to calculate child support. This is the chief reason parenting time affects the final child support determination.

The parenting time child support guidelines are based on the Income Shares Model. This model hinges on the principle that children should receive the same level of financial care when their parents are apart as they would have received if they were together (Child Support Guidelines, 1).

Arizona uses a child support calculator, which considers many factors, such as the income of each parent adjusted after taxes. It is a complex model that adjusts for how much a parent receives in child support.

As you can see, parenting time and support payment calculations go hand in hand. Meals, clothing, and shelter are all necessities taken into account when deciding the child’s needs and what child support might look like. The more time the custodial parent spends with a child, the more money they will typically spend on them. The more time a noncustodial parent spends with their child, the more money they will need to spend to take care of the child’s needs.

The court will weigh these expenses and issue a child support order that ensures both parents are contributing to the child’s needs. If both parents share roughly equal amounts of parenting time and have similar salaries, child support may be minimal. However, if there is an income disparity or one parent has the bulk of the parenting time, the other parent will likely pay child support to compensate for the remainder of the child’s care.

Parenting time and income calculations are crucial in determining child support payments.

How to Calculate Parenting Time

In many cases, more parenting time can mean lower child support payments paid to the custodial parent. Arizona child support and parenting time consider the noncustodial parent’s time with their child, not including when the child is in school or in day care. Courts estimate that time based on the segments of time each parent spends with their child. (Arizona Child Support Guidelines, 16)

Parenting time is calculated by the annual time spent with the child. Reviewing the court order, parenting plan, or considering past experience are all ways to determine how much time you or the other parent has spent with the child.

Determining the number of days a noncustodial parent spends with their child can get complicated fast because some of those days are split by school or only amount to a few hours.

To better calculate the number of parenting days, the noncustodial parent would need to know the following:

For example: Sally is the noncustodial parent. She picks up her child on Thursday at 9:00 PM and brings her child to school on Monday at 8:00 AM, where the custodial parent picks the child up at 3:00 PM. Thursday from 9:00 PM to Sunday 9:00 PM is equivalent to three days, and the time from 9:00 PM to 8:00 AM is eleven hours, which is half of a day. Sally would have parenting time of three and a half days.

Calculating parenting time is important because it affects the amount of child support paid.

Parenting Time Tiers and Their Impact

Calculating child support based on parenting time in Arizona might seem confusing, but it is a common issue that has some simple solutions. Arizona Child Support Guidelines includes a table that shows the percentage to adjust the child support by the amount of parenting time. Then, simply add your percentage to a child support calculator to get an idea of the child support necessary in your case.

Here are some examples of parenting time and child support using common custody splits:

50/50 Split

If Andrew and Mary have roughly equal income and share parenting time 50/50, there is a possibility that neither will owe child support to the other. If, however, Mary’s income is dramatically higher than Andrew’s, then Mary might need to pay child support to make up the difference.

80/20 Custody

Megan and Charlie have two children, and Charlie’s proportionate share of child support is $957. If his parenting time is 20%, then he sees his children around 70 days per year. According to the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, this adjustment will change the percentage by 0.10. To calculate this, a judge might multiply the child support ($957) by 0.10, which equals 95.7, and subtract it from the child support amount. He would owe $861.30.

Occasional Visitation

Child support is required to ensure parents contribute to childrearing expenses, even if one parent only visits with the child occasionally. The amount of time spent with the child will be used in child support calculations just as the above examples.

If there are multiple children with different parenting times, then you must prepare multiple child support worksheets. Each worksheet calculates the amount for the parent with less parenting time for the child in question.

For example, Tom and Sam share three children. The oldest spends more than half of their parenting time with Tom, while the other two spend more than half of their time with Sam. Tom would fill out one child support worksheet for the younger two children, and Sam would fill out one for the oldest child. The worksheets would be used to calculate the child support owed, which would then be subtracted or added to the other parent’s amount.

Common Misconceptions About Child Support and Parenting Time

Because calculating child support and parenting time can be complex, incorrect assumptions are common. A few common misconceptions include:

“If I get more parenting time, I won’t have to pay anything.”

False. Child support is calculated not only based on parenting time, but also on income. If your income is significantly higher than the other parent’s income, then you might still owe child support. Often, if parenting time is 50/50, then neither will have to pay child support; however, that is only true if the parents’ incomes are very similar.

“It is automatically 50/50 if both parents want custody.”

Not always. Parenting time is decided using a variety of factors, not just based on what the parents want. The court prioritizes what would be in the best interest of the child.

“The calculator is final.”

False. A child support calculator is an estimate only. The final decision on the amount of child support paid comes from the court. A judge has all the pertinent information that will affect the determined child support amount, the official child support calculations provided by the state, and the legal authority to make common-sense adjustments based on the unique circumstances of the case.

Try It Yourself: Use Our Arizona Child Support Calculator

Each parent is equally responsible for providing financially for their child, whether they were born naturally or adopted. Because calculating child support can be complex and somewhat confusing, The Valley Law Group has created a parenting time child support calculator to help resolve some of the complexity and demystify some of the common misconceptions surrounding child support.

While it’s important to remember that figures generated by a child support calculator are only an estimate, it is useful to get an idea of what you might owe or be owed before heading into court. You can get that estimate by using our Child Support Calculator. It’s free and allows you to not only prepare yourself for what the court might decide but also gives you a better idea of how calculating child support works.

To use the calculator, you will need to gather the following information:

If you would like more information about our calculator and how to use it, we have a guide that can walk you through the process..

How an Attorney Can Help

Support payments can vary based on more than parenting time. The court will also look at the income of both parents, their expenses, and extenuating circumstances. Because of this, court decisions can deviate from the estimates on the calculator.

While you are not legally required to hire an attorney to help you through the child support process, their legal advice can make a serious difference. The extra expense may seem unnecessary, but a lawyer’s experience could save you money in the long run.

A child support attorney can help:

A child support lawyer can save you not only money but also the time you might have spent researching and attempting to understand the complex laws and statutes surrounding child support. They have the experience and ability to tailor that experience to your unique set of circumstances to help you achieve a desirable outcome that is both accurate and fair.

Contact a Child Support Attorney Today