Sometimes Divorce Attorneys Can Help Offset Child Support in Louisiana

In Louisiana, a parent who is not the sole custodial parent (in the event of a sole custody arrangement) or the parent who is not the domiciliary parent (in the event of a joint custody arrangement) may owe the other parent some form of child support.  If the parents share joint custody, and the non-domiciliary parent contributes a significant amount of time, energy, and money to the upbringing of the child, then there is a chance that this contribution may act as a credit against the money that that parent owes when it comes time to pay child support.  Let’s consider an example Louisiana divorce attorneys may encounter.

Let’s say Todd and Judy share a child together: Liz.  Liz is almost five years old.  With the assistance of their divorce attorneys, the parents agree to joint custody and Judy is named the domiciliary parent.  As part of the custody arrangement, it is agreed that Todd will have custody of Liz once a month for a week.  It is also settled that Todd will pay child support to Judy.

The custody arrangement proceeds as planned.  Every month Todd takes Liz for a week.  During this week Liz sleeps at Todd’s house, and Todd makes sure she is fed three meals a day.  Additionally, Todd pays for Liz’s daycare for the week that he has her.  Finally, Todd always makes a point to take his daughter to buy new clothes and toys whenever they spend their week together.  After the week is over, Liz returns to her mother’s house.

After a while, Todd starts to think that the child support he is paying Judy is a little high.  He does not think it was computed right, and the thinks that the week he has Liz every month should be factored into the award that he has to pay Judy.  Under Louisiana Revised Statute LA. Sec. 9:315.8, Todd might have a pretty good argument.  315.8 explains that when a non-domiciliary parent has custody of a child for more than seventy-three days, then they may be entitled to a credit against the amount which they pay in child support.  To count as a “day” for the purposes of 315.8, the parent must have the child for more than four hours – though this is what the law says, divorce attorneys may quibble about this being fair.  Divorce attorneys might say that also relevant to the analysis is the value conferred to the domiciliary parent by the non-domiciliary parent by virtue of the custody.  That is to say, is the domiciliary parent saving money on raising the child which they otherwise would not have, when it is that the non-domiciliary parent has custody?

Under these circumstances, divorce attorneys might say that Todd seems to fit the bill.  Since he has custody of Liz once a month for a week, that is roughly eighty-four days out of the year.  Clearly on each of these days he has Liz for more than four hours, because Liz stays over at his house.  Additionally, it can be compellingly shown that Todd is absorbing the costs of the child which Judy would otherwise have to pay, when he has custody of Liz.  For example he feeds Liz, he pays for her daycare, and he also takes her on clothes and toy shopping trips.

This above is informational only, not legal advice. Will Beaumont. New Orleans.