Fathers who have custody of their children are entitled to receive child support. The law on child support is gender neutral, yet there are plenty of fathers who will waive child support from the mother because they are so happy to have custody of their children.
Frequently when counselling a father who has received custody on consent he will say to me, "I don't want any money, I just want my kids." However, as an experienced matrimonial attorney, I can tell you that I rarely hear it the other way where the mother is willing to waive child support from the father.
When a mother consents to the father having custody of the children she should be held to the same standards that men are when it comes to supporting their children, yet that often does not occur. If the dad earns much more than the mom, the dad is more likely to waive child support. I have often seen cases where the mom will negotiate that she does not pay child support unless her income is in excess of a certain amount, a result that almost never occurs for a father.
Likewise, I have also had cases in which the mother earns more than the father and does not think that she should have to pay child support! Clearly, this is not based on any legal authority so there are other social issues at play.
If a father has a contested custody trial and wins, the court will calculate child support to be paid by the mother because that is the law. Therefore, it appears that some men will negotiate receiving reduced or no child support to have primary residential custody of their children.
Until fathers are viewed as having the same rights to be the custodial parent, there will be fathers who give up child support to have custody of their children.
If you are a father seeking custody of your children, please call my office for an appointment so that I can help you preserve all of your rights as a custodial parent.