What Costs Do We Share when We Have 50/50 Custody in Utah?
50/50 custody is becoming more popular in Utah, although, it’s far from the norm.
The more popular it becomes, the more people have questions about how 50/50 works in real life.
One question that comes up regarding 50/50 custody is: what costs do we share when we have 50/50 custody?
The answer is: quite a few. Let’s look at some.
- Child support.
I’ve written about this before, but just because you share custody equal doesn’t mean someone won’t pay child support.
Unless you make the same amount, or very close to it, someone will pay child support.
Child support is meant to pay for child costs, so it is a form of cost sharing.
- Health Insurance.
Almost all parents sharing 50/50 custody will share health insurance costs.
This includes premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
- Extracurricular Activities.
If you want equal custody, you each need to put up money for extracurricular activities.
This includes things like dance, club soccer, acting lessons.
- School costs.
New clothes for school. New school supplies. Fees for debate team or football. Tutoring costs. Choir trips.
All of these are examples of school costs parents will share if they decide to share 50/50 custody.
Do Parents Share Costs 50%/50%?
Parents who share 50/50 custody share costs for their kids, but in what proportion do they share those costs?
The answer is almost always: they share costs 50%/50% (i.e., they share costs equally).
There is one exception to this: one parent makes way more money than the other parent.
If that’s the case, then you can negotiate cost sharing during mediation so it’s not 50%/50%, but something that matches cost sharing to how incomes compare to each other (e.g., 25%/75%).
Keep in mind, if you don’t do negotiate a different cost-sharing proportion during mediation, you’ll be stuck with 50%/50% forever.
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