Fathers as well as mothers may ask for child support

When a divorce happens in Wisconsin, either parent might ask for child support. Whether or not that child support is granted depends upon several factors including income and how often each parent has the child in his or her care.

While women have traditionally been the recipients of child support, times have changed. Men may ask for child support now from their ex-wives depending upon the family situation. However, in some cases, both men and women may resist this in the belief that men should be the providers and women should be the main caregivers. This belief was expressed publicly by Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, when the father of Bristol Palin’s child asked for child support.

A further complication is that, in some states, requesting child support may be necessary in order to apply for benefits such as food stamps. Furthermore, seeking child support may be a way for a father to be more involved in a child’s life. This may be particularly true if a father has primary physical custody of the child. On the other hand, there is still a wage gap between men and women, and men may be better positioned to pay child support.

In a divorce, old assumptions about who has custody and who pays support may no longer be valid. A father might have primary custody, or the parents might share joint custody but the mother may pay child support to the father. State laws will help to determine the amount of child support paid. Parents who are able to negotiate a legally binding child custody and support agreement with their attorneys may find that they attorneys can often work to mediate a divorce case in a civil and organized way.