Joint legal and split physical custody means the parents have two or more minor children, they share decision making authority, but they split the children's living arrangement. That is, one or more children live with one parent, and one or more children live with the other parent. Parent-time (visitation) is worked out so that both parents have parent-time with each child, and most often, they will have parent-time with all of the children at the same time.
Child support is calculated using the split custody worksheet, the number of children residing with each parent and each parent's gross income.
Note: Split Custody is not possible if there is only one child.
Example: Jane and John Doe have an excellent relationship and have been parenting their two children, Peter and Paul, jointly since their birth. Peter, their oldest child, had some minor problems with the law while at Jane's house, shoplifting and fighting, and is now living with John. Recently Paul was diagnosed with a rare mental disorder. The only specialist and treatment center is in California, two states away. If John moves he will need to give up a very lucrative private business and go through years with very little income while he rebuilds his life. Jane is a nurse and will be able to find employment in California at a higher salary than what she earns in Utah.
Jane feels that she has no other option but to take Paul to California. Though they are both concerned about the children living so far away from each other, they also feel that it would still be better for Peter to live with John. They decide to meet with a mediator who helps them work through all of the details of their parenting plan. They decide to continue making the important decisions about their children together. Their written agreement states that they will call and email each other at least weekly. John agrees to fly to California with Peter at least twice a month and every other holiday so that the four of them can visit together. They agree that if they have an issue which they can't resolve that they will go back to a mediator and split the costs.
Using the split custody worksheet, John's child support is substantial because his income is so much greater than Jane's. He also agrees to be responsible for any medical care not covered by health insurance.