While the amount of custody each parent has helps determine the amount of child support (as well as obviously the incomes and credits for health insurance/child care payments), the two claims are completely independent. So just because you pay child support doesn't automatically mean you have joint custody (physical or legal) and would have to actually file a lawsuit to start a custody action to get that resolved. On a related note, if parent A denies parent B custody, that doesn't give parent B the right to stop paying child support. Likewise if parent B stops/misses a child support payment, that doesn't give parent A the right to deny parent B custody. You should consult with an attorney to discuss if you should be filing for child support and custody together and help in doing that so you can hopefully present the best case and get some reasonable custody/visitation along with the child support.
Answered on Jun 26th, 2013 at 9:41 AM