North Dakota Child Support & Parenting Time Totals

North Dakota uses overnight totals in its child support formula to determine the amount of child support in your divorce case.

Besides income, overnight totals are a key part of the North Dakota child support formula. Your parenting time directly affects your child support, whether you pay or receive. Use the calculator above to see how much you will owe or collect under this formula.

Most parenting time totals are estimates (and thus incorrect)

North Dakota lawyers and judges often rely on overnight estimates only, even if they are incorrect, because counting total hours is tedious and time consuming. Divorcing parents often rely on these estimates as well.

Using estimates means your overnight totals are wrong when compared to your actual parenting time schedule. This means your child support amount will not be fair or exact.

How to calculate parenting time instead of relying on estimates

To calculate parenting time, the easiest and most accurate way is to use software. Without software, you're forced to add up hours for a whole year, which is error-prone when you include alternating holidays, summer break, and any changes to the schedule throughout the year.

Using software, you can also tweak your schedule to see how even little changes affect your total parenting time, and you can see how your parenting time changes each year due to holidays and other events.

You can also track what actually happens, and show how much parenting time you've actually received for any period of time. Historical information is a powerful tool when you request a child support modification or when you request more parenting time.

Fast facts about North Dakota child support

In any divorce, North Dakota family courts award custody of the children to one or both parents. Custody is divided into legal custody and physical custody. The total parenting time factors into the child support formula for both sole and joint custody.

North Dakota sole physical custody: The children reside with and are supervised by the residential parent, while the other parent is entitled to scheduled visitations. In North Dakota, sole physical custody is given to the parent with whom the children spend the most time with. The nonresidential parent hosts the children for 100 overnights or fewer.

North Dakota joint physical custody: Each parent has significant periods of physical custody, which allows them frequent and continuing contact with their children. Parenting time does not have to be equally divided to qualify for joint physical custody.  The nonresidential parent must host the children for more than 100 overnights each year to qualify for joint custody.

North Dakota equal physical custody: Both parents have equal periods of physical custody. Parenting time must be equally divided to qualify for joint physical custody.

North Dakota child support formula and parenting time totals

North Dakota family courts use formulas that consider income and overnights to arrive at a monthly child support amount.  A different child support formula is used for sole custody than for joint custody.

Your overnights determine which formula is used:

• Sole custody formula: The total income from the nonresidential parent is put into the formula. Certain deductions from that total are allowed. To be considered a sole custody case, the nonresidential parent spends 100 or fewer days per year, or less than 28 percent of the time, with the children.
  
  There is no parenting time credit given for sole custody situations. The residential parent receives child support from the nonresidential parents according to North Dakota law.
• Joint custody formula: A different formula is used for joint custody child support calculations. Both household incomes figure into the formula, unlike the one for sole custody. In North Dakota, when a family court orders joint physical custody, the nonresidential parent must host the children for more than 100 days per year.
  
  If the overnight totals are fewer than 101, the sole custody formula is used.

Examples of sole custody and North Dakota child support

Consider the hypothetical case of Robert and Mary. Robert's adjusted income is $4,000 per month, while Mary's adjusted monthly income is $2,400. They have two children.

See how the child support amounts change in these examples:

• Scenario #1: Robert is the nonresidential parent in this sole custody case, and is scheduled to host the children for fewer than 101 days per year. He pays $1,131 in child support each month to Mary.
• Scenario #2: Mary is the nonresidential parent and hosts the children for fewer than 101 days per year. She pays $676 in child support to Robert.

In North Dakota sole custody cases, the nonresidential parent pays child support to the residential parent, regardless of income.

Examples of joint and equal custody and North Dakota child support

Consider the hypothetical case of Robert and Mary. Robert's adjusted income is $4,000 per month, while Mary's adjusted monthly income is $2,400. They have two children.

See how the child support amounts change in these examples:

• Scenario #1: Robert hosts the children for 101 days or 28 percent, just over the minimum to qualify for shared physical custody. He pays $1,031 in child support per month to Mary. This is because he is the higher earner.
• Scenario #2: If Robert and Mary each host the children for an equal amount of time, or 182 overnights, Robert would pay $455 in child support per month to Mary. In equal custody cases, each parent's support amount is determined, then the lower amount is subtracted from the larger amount.

In North Dakota joint and equal custody, the higher earner generally pays child support to the lower earner to ensure the children's standard of living is the same in both locations.

Other factors in the North Dakota child support formula

North Dakota's child support formula uses the following information to calculate your monthly amounts for shared custody child support:

Eligible children: A parent is obligated to pay child support until each child is 18 years old, however the family court often extends child support payments until the child graduates from high school or turns 19, whichever comes first.

Gross earnings: Gross earnings are established based on tax records and current pay stubs. North Dakota law uses one parent's income from the equivalent of one full-time job to determine a child support amount in sole custody cases. Both parent's incomes figure into joint custody child support.

Specific deductions: There are some deductions allowed by North Dakota family courts that allow an adjustment of the income, including health insurance premiums for the children, support for other children and child care expenses, for example.

How accurate child support helps your children

Paying accurate child support helps your children in several ways, primarily because it ensures their financial needs are met.

Here are some other reasons why accurate overnight numbers help you, the other parent and your children:

• It provides a fair way to determine your child support amounts
• It guarantees the child support amount reflects each parent's responsibilities
• It allows for modifications if your actual time and scheduled time are different
• It is compliant with North Dakota law

Your financial obligations to your children don't end with divorce, so whether you are paying or receiving child support, you owe it to your children to pay or receive the proper amount.

Top 5 things to remember about North Dakota child support and parenting time

To ensure you are paying or receiving the right amount of child support in North Dakota, remember these 5 things:

1.  North Dakota Child Support Guidelines award sole or joint physical custody based on the number of overnights the nonresidential parent receives.
2. Sole physical custody means that the nonresidential parent is scheduled for 100 days or fewer with the children per year.
3. Parents with more than 100 overnights qualify for the joint child custody formula to figure child support. Generally, the joint custody child support formula figures lower child support payments than the sole custody formula.
4. In sole custody cases, the nonresidential parent pays child support to the residential parent.
5. In the case of joint and equal child custody, the higher earner pays child support to the lower earner.

Use Custody X Change software to create a custody schedule that will quickly calculate the total parenting time for the North Dakota child support formula.

As you negotiate what kind of custody schedule will best fit your needs, the software will accurately calculate your overnights.