First, it is important to understand that Florida no longer uses the term custody. Parents and children now enjoy timesharing. One of the factors that determines how much child support is paid is the amount of timesharing each parent enjoys with the children. Timesharing is normally calculated by counting the number of overnights exercised by each parent. The more overnights a parent has, the less child support is ordered. The reason for the reduction is that when a parent has their children for a significant amount of time, the Court assumes that the parent exercising the time is bearing more of the expense for the children. Therefore, the Court reduces the amount of support paid to the other parent to make up for the increased expense that comes with increased time.
If a parent requests more time with their children, that parent needs to factor in all of the responsibilities that come with more timesharing. For example, can you get the children to school or daycare on time? Will your job allow you take off for a doctor’s appointment or school event? Do you work long hours that would interfere with your ability to get the children fed and ready for bed at a regular time? While paying less child support to your ex is an incentive to request more time with a child, parents need to be sure that the request is realistic for their particular circumstances. The Court will not order increased timesharing if the parent making the request cannot actually carry out the schedule. Requesting time merely for the sake of reducing your child support is not favorably viewed by the Court when implementing a parenting plan. If your timesharing plan is realistic and provides you with substantial timesharing, your child support will be reduced accordingly.