On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Custody on Saturday, June 24, 2017.
rMissouri parents who are divorced and dealing with issues related to child custody, visitation and support might wonder how these issues relate, particularly when it comes to holiday visitation. While in some cases, the child support order will not be affected during holiday visitations, in other instances temporary changes might need to be made.
If you are a parent in this situation, it is important to understand how both holiday visitation and child support affect each other to make sure you are complying with the order. For short-term holiday visitation, such as when a child spends a long weekend with a non-custodial parent, child support will normally not be affected. However, if the child goes on an extended visit with the non-custodial parent, for example during the summer months, the parents might have to make temporary arrangements for child support to reflect the temporary change in living arrangements and the amount of time the child will spend with the non-custodial parent.
Another scenario that might affect you relates to unpaid or back-owed child support. In this case, some parents attempt to prevent the non-custodial parent from having access to their child. However, child custody and child support orders are separate and one should be not be used to force the other parent to pay. Preventing a parent from seeing their child during their court-ordered visitation time due to unpaid support is actually illegal and it is always best to comply with court orders.
Our lawyers can provide guidance if you find yourself in a situation where there are questions about the custody and visitation arrangement or the child support payments. If you are interested in the services we might be able to provide in such a scenario, you are invited to visit our page on the subject.
