How we would like to deal with this issue, is after the proper parenting plan is made according to the parents' schedules and the children's needs, then we work on a support schedule. We factor in the income of both parents and financial planning with the assistance of a financial expert as a neutral.
A financial neutral does not take sides and works with both parents to plan something that makes sense for the family going through transition. Again, we want to factor both parents' income, needs, and goals and structure a plan that will work for both in the long run. During the process, we will inform both parents what the different potential results would be if the couple went through the court system.
The courts use Dissomaster, which is a computer software program, that calculates child support based on the income of each parent and the percentage of time each child spends with each parent. A lot of times, because the amount of child support is controlled by the percentage of time with each parent, unfortunately, the parenting plan, or custody and visitation becomes the issue of contention for many parents going through divorce.
Other variables are earning capacity. For example, if a parent is not working, the other parent will want to assign an earning ability to the parent and request a vocational examination. This process can also become very costly and may not produce results if that parent shows that they have made reasonable efforts and have not been able to obtain employment. This discovery process can also be very costly and time-consuming.