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Legal Information: New Jersey

Child Support

Laws current as of October 23, 2024

If I have joint custody, is either parent responsible for child support?

The New Jersey child support guidelines use a different formula when there’s a shared parenting plan as opposed to when one parent has sole custody. It makes a distinction between the:

  • parent of primary residence, with whom the child spends more than 50% of his/her time each year; and
  • the other parent, known as the parent of alternate residence.

The guidelines then consider the income and expenses of both parents and the expenses of the parent of alternate residence when s/he is in charge of the child. After calculations and adjustments, either parent could be ordered to pay child support based on the needs of the child and the higher income of one of the parents.1

1 N.J. Ct. R. App. IX-A(14)

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