When each parent has primary custody of at least one child, Georgia runs a separate child support worksheet for each custodial parent, and each parent ends up with a support figure of his or her own.
What “Split Parenting” Means
Under OCGA 19-6-15(a)(21), split parenting “only occurs in a child support case if there are two or more children of the same parents, when one parent is the custodial parent for at least one of the children of the parents, and the other parent is the custodial parent for at least one of the other children.” Whether such an arrangement suits your children is a custody question; this is the arithmetic.
How the Worksheets Run
Under OCGA 19-6-15(l), “a worksheet shall be prepared separately by each custodial parent for each child for whom such parent is the custodial parent.” The parenting time adjustment “shall be used when preparing both worksheets.” OCGA 19-6-15(g)(2)(A)(ii). For each custodial situation the court decides which parent owes support, the presumptive and actual amounts, how and when it is paid, and “[a]ny other child support responsibilities for each parent.”
Examples
In Parker v. Parker, 293 Ga. 300 (2013), each parent had custody of one daughter. The Georgia Supreme Court confirmed that “separate worksheets are required for each child in a split parenting situation,” let the trial court weigh one parent’s obligations to the sibling on the other worksheet, but reversed because the worksheets carried tuition and child care figures the evidence did not support.
In Turney v. Turney, 372 Ga. App. 855 (2024), a custody modification moved two boys to the father while the oldest stayed with the mother, and the trial court calculated support only for the boys who moved. The Court of Appeals vacated the award: the requirement has no exception “for children whose custody is not being modified,” so the oldest boy’s support had to be recalculated too.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!