Do You Have the Right to Child Support as a Divorcing Father?

If you are divorcing as a parent, your priorities in a divorce will often shift from asking yourself how you protect your assets to asking yourself what is best for your children and what will make this divorce easier for them. Divorce is often a messy affair not only financially, but emotionally, too. Depending on the contention present between parents, it can severely affect a child’s development and view of the world in a way that no parent wants to impart to their child. However, for divorcing fathers that want to continue to be present in their child’s life, divorce can become even more stressful. It is no secret that the courts will often prefer to give primary custody to the mother, even if you believe they might not be the best fit for the child. However, even if the father does win primary physical custody of a child, does he still have the right to child support paid from the mother as well?

There is no state law that will ever say that fathers with primary custody have no right to child support from the mother. However, the real problem is that the courts in Minnesota and many other states are very much stuck in the past when it comes to parental roles. The courts view the mothers as the nurturers, which is why so many choose to give primary custody to the mother unless there is very clear evidence that is would not be a safe or stable environment for a child. Alternatively, the father’s are considered the breadwinners of a family, which is why courts are less likely to award them child support even if they are awarded primary custody.

The unfortunate reality is that even if a father was the breadwinner of the household, when transitioning to a post-divorce life, even they can require some help making ends meet. This is particularly true when the custody-holding parent moves from a dual income household to a single income household while still having to financially support a child until they are no longer a minor. This is why it is crucial for fathers who have sought custody and won it to have their lawyer ask for child support in order to create a happy and healthy household for their children.

When a mother wins custody of a child, child support is often just included with it without a need to ask for it. However, so many fathers have missed out on receiving child support because in many cases, they will have to ask for it. For divorcing fathers that win custody, frequently they don’t even realize they have a right to child support because the offer never seemed like it was on the table. However, there isn’t a state law in Minnesota or any state that would be able to deny child support for a primary custody-holding father if it showed that the support would benefit the welfare of the child.

If you are a father who is filing for divorce and strongly feel that it would be in your child’s benefit to live with you as the primary custody holder, but also need the child support to support them, contact us today. The family court system can often treat the father’s rights towards a child unfairly, particularly because they are mired in gender roles that are rapidly being outdated, this is why it is so important to have an attorney that is experienced in family law at your side. Not only can we help you seek custody of your children, but we can make sure that if you win, you get the financial support that you need as well.