Provides that the court shall not order a parent to pay child support to the other parent for reasonable or necessary expenses of the child if the parents are awarded equal time with the child

HB 385 would prevent courts from ordering child support payments when parents share physical custody equally. Specifically, it states that if one parent voluntarily gives up physical custody of a child for more than 30 consecutive days, the other parent’s child support obligation would be reduced or stopped for that period. The bill directly affects parents in joint custody arrangements where time is shared equally, modifying how courts calculate support obligations during extended custody periods. The legislation is currently pending in the Missouri House Committee on Emerging Issues.