Almost equal parenting time: is child support still paid?

It used to be simple: the father pays, the mother receives. Today, as more parents raise their children together after separating, the court looks at the whole picture.

What changed

In 2017 Israel's Supreme Court, sitting as an expanded panel, held that for children aged 6 to 15 both parents are liable for child support. The split between them follows each parent's financial means and the actual parenting time. Under age 6, the duty to cover the children's essential needs still rests mainly on the father. I wrote about the age differences in a separate article.

When the time is almost equal

When the children spend similar time with each parent, and both earn similar amounts, child support can drop substantially. But it is not automatic. The court looks at:

• Each parent's real income, not only the salary on the payslip.
• What parenting time looks like in practice, not only what the agreement says.
• Who pays for expenses such as education, activities and health.
• The children's ages, and what they need.

What actually happens decides

Parenting time written into an agreement but not kept will not reduce support. The opposite is true too: a real change in parenting time since support was set can justify asking to update it.

What you can do

If you are before an agreement, build parenting time and support together, not each on its own. If there is already an agreement or a judgment, and circumstances have changed materially since, you can ask to update it. Often this can be done in mediation, without starting a new war.

If you are not sure where you stand, tell me how time is divided today and what the incomes are, and we will make sense of it.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different, and the law changes from time to time. Before acting, it is worth taking advice on your own circumstances.