• Many judges award equal custody to parents in a divorce.way for parent with child - sign on pavement image by endostock from Fotolia.com
  
  At one time, the odds of a father being awarded custody of a child in a divorce was rare. The courts are now more willing to consider equal parenting. In "Making Shared Custody Work," an article published in the October 2004 issue of Child Magazine, and reprinted on parents.com in June 2010, Jerry Brodlie, Ph.D., a child psychologist, stated that "Children need both parents -- one is not more primary or important than the other."
  
  

Payments

• Parents are more inclined to make regular child support payments with equal custody.money image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com
  
  A major complaint made by custodial parents is the failure of the other parent to pay court ordered child support. More parents pay child support regularly, and without restraint, when they are involved in all aspects of the child's life through equal (shared) custody, or court ordered shared decision making.
  
  

Calculations

• Child support may be based on a combination of things like a parent's income or a child's needs.baseball image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
  
  The mechanics of figuring child support and determining support payments is up to the courts. Both parents may be ordered to pay child support when the child is with the other parent. The amount of support may vary depending on the parent's wages and cost of living as well as a child's needs including child care, extracurricular activities, and extra school fees. In other instances, a parent could be absolved from paying child support if such a cost would create a financial crisis.
  
  

Background

• Judges consider the background of both parents before deciding whether to allow equal custody.drug abuse image by Keith Frith from Fotolia.com
  
  Judges consider the background of both parents before making a decision to allow equal custody in a divorce including possible drug or alcohol abuse; child abuse or neglect; domestic violence by either parent; and any mental health issues like schizophrenia that could severely impact a parent's ability to successfully parent a child for several weeks or months at a time.