The 50/50 parenting time thing needs more discussion here. If it’s 50/50, why is one parent shelling out hundreds of dollars per month? A lot of divorcing guys are going thru an identity crisis and they latch onto this fake idea that anything less than 50/50 means they’re a bad parent. Or they think that every other weekend means their children will forget them. These are just stereotypes and they are not true.

My point is that if child support is going to put you in a financial hardship, let the mom take more than 50% of the parenting duties. It’s really common sense to give yourself more time to improve your finances and excel at all the other things you need to do.

Children are very expensive if they live with you half the time. If they live with you less than half the time, mom spends the child support on clothing, food, etc.

Now here’s where it gets interesting: say you’re making this massive $2k CS payment from the worksheet. You have your kids every Wednesday night and every other weekend. One day your ex calls you up and says hey, I need extra help. These kids are wearing me out. Perfect opportunity to get that 50/50 or whatever schedule you want and get your CS reduced from the default maximum!

Or, 2 years later you go back to the judge, tell him all about how you’ve improved over the last two years, and ask for more parenting time. Once received, ask for a reduction in CS do to new circumstances.

Or shit just get 50/50 and pay out the ears while playing Mr. Mom without enough money to survive.