Are you fully caring for your child if all you do is put a roof over their head and food on their plate?

A recent case involved a family of two parents and three children. The two eldest children went to boarding school in Sydney. Unfortunately, the parents split up. The two eldest children still spent their weekdays at boarding school but would spend alternate weekends and holidays with each parent.  Eventually, a dispute arose about how much time each parent looked after each child, particularly the middle child. If the son spent more time with one parent over the other then that parent would need to pay more in child support.

The father argued that because he paid for his son’s education and boarding fees, his son was in his care when he was at boarding school. This would make his percentage of care far more than that of the mother.

The case went to court.

Even though the father was paying for boarding school, the court did not find that he was looking after the son full-time during this period. The court observed that looking after a child is more than food and shelter, includes things like emotional support and major life decisions. The mother was doing things like talking to the son on the phone and making healthcare decisions. As the mother was participating in looking after the son during that time, the father could not claim that he had full care.

This case is a good example of how custody of a child is not a matter of who is putting the most money in, consideration must be given to all the different aspects of looking after children, both tangible and intangible. If you are unsure of your percentage of care when it comes to your children call us on 9440 1202 and speak to one of our family lawyers.