S.C. Code Regs. § § 114-4730

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 11, November 22, 2024

Section 114-4730 - Unusual Custody Arrangements

A. Shared Parenting Arrangements

When both parents are deemed fit, and other relevant logistical circumstances apply, active participation in the life of the child(ren) by the parent without custody should be encouraged in order to ensure the maximum involvement by both parents in the life of the child(ren). The amount of visitation, however, is left to the discretion of the judge in consideration of the various factors of the Children's Code, as is the use of the calculation on Worksheet C. The court should consider each case individually before applying the adjustment to ensure that it does not produce a substantial negative effect on the child(ren)'s standard of living.

For the purpose of this section, shared physical custody means that each parent has court-ordered visitation with the children overnight for more than 109 overnights each year (30%) and that both parents contribute to the expenses of the child(ren) in addition to the payment of child support.

If a parent with shared physical custody does not exercise it as ordered by the court, the parent to whom support is owed may petition the court for a reversion to the level of support calculated under the guidelines without the shared parenting adjustment. The shared physical custody adjustment is an annual adjustment only and should not be used when the proportion of overnights exceeds 30% for a shorter period, e.g., a month. For example, child support is not abated during a month-long summer visitation. This adjustment should be applied without regard to legal custody of the child(ren). Legal custody refers to decision-making authority with respect to the child(ren). If the 109 overnights threshold is reached for shared physical custody, this adjustment may be applied even if one parent has sole legal custody.

1. Child support for cases with shared physical custody shall be calculated using Worksheet C. This worksheet should be used only for shared physical custody as defined above.

2. The basic child support obligation shall be multiplied by 1.5 to arrive at a shared custody basic child support obligation. The shared custody basic child support obligation is apportioned to each parent according to his or her income. In turn, a child support obligation is computed for each parent by multiplying that parent's portion of the shared custody child support obligation by the percentage of time the child(ren) spend(s) with that parent. The respective basic child support obligations are then offset, with the parent owing more basic child support paying the difference between the two amounts, subject to the provisions below. The transfer for the basic obligation for the parent owing less basic child support shall be set at zero dollars.

3. If a parent has more than 109 overnights but less than 128 overnights, a graduated support obligation should be determined. The graduated support obligation reflects a transition between the full shared-physical custody obligation and the sole custody obligation, thus requiring the completion of both Worksheet A and Worksheet C. The sole custody amount is calculated from Worksheet A and the full shared-physical custody order is calculated from Worksheet C. The graduated support obligation is determined by subtracting an amount from the Worksheet A obligation. This amount is the difference between the worksheet A and worksheet C values, multiplied by the number of overnights more than 109 divided by the difference between 128 and 110 overnights. If positive, the graduated support obligation would then be treated as the basic child support obligation for that parent. Otherwise, it would be treated as the basic child support obligation for the other parent.

4. Adjustments for each parent's additional direct expenses on the child(ren) are made by adding child(ren)'s share of any reimbursed child health care expenses, work-related child care expenses and any other extraordinary expenses agreed to by the parents or ordered by the tribunal, less any extraordinary credits agreed to by the parent or ordered by the tribunal according to their income share. In turn, each parent's net share of additional direct expenses is determined by subtracting the parent's actual direct expenses on the child(ren)'s share of any unreimbursed child health care expenses, work-related child care expenses and any other extraordinary expenses agreed to by the parents or ordered by the tribunal from their share. The parent with a positive net share of additional direct expenses owes the other parent the amount of his or her net share of additional direct expenses. The parent with the zero or a negative net share of additional expenses owes zero dollars for additional direct expenses.

5. The final amount of the child support order is determined by summing what each parent owes for the basic support obligation and additional direct expenses as defined in subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section. The respective sums are then offset, with the parent owing more paying the other parent the difference between the two amounts.

B. Split Custody

Split custody refers to custody arrangements where there are two or more children and each parent has physical custody of at least one child. Using these guidelines, the court should determine a theoretical support payment for the child or children in the custody of the other. In split custody arrangements the guidelines arrive at separate computations for the child or children residing with each parent. The obligations are then offset, with the parent owing the larger amount paying the difference to the other parent.

S.C. Code Regs. § 114-4730

Amended by State Register Volume 18, Issue No. 5, eff May 27, 1994; State Register Volume 23, Issue No. 3, eff March 26, 1999; State Register Volume 30, Issue No. 6, eff June 23, 2006; State Register Volume 38, Issue No. 3, eff March 28, 2014; State Register Volume 48, Issue No. 02, eff. 2/23/2024.