Gone are the days where fathers in Minnesota are automatically court ordered to pay child support for their children. Today, more dads are being awarded child support from women. As more mothers continue to take over the role of primary breadwinner for their families, the child support standards that have long applied to men are now being applied to them.
Child support requests are on the rise from men who earn less than their children’s mothers. According to Time, 40 percent of households are led by women who out-earn men. Celebrities are no exception to this trend. For example, Halle Berry was recently ordered to pay an undisclosed amount of money for tuition expenses and more than $200,000 a year in child support to her daughter’s father.
Communities Digital News reports that many female breadwinners are employed as organizational leaders, military workers and entrepreneurs. More children lived in homes where fathers had full or primary custody of them in 2011. As more women step into higher earning careers, fathers are spending more time at home with the kids. At least 30 percent of child support payments go to fathers who have children with women who earn more money than them.
Child support has been traditionally awarded to single mothers who earned less than their children’s fathers. However, the law does not automatically award child support and custody to mothers; fathers are equally eligible for those benefits. Child custody and support issues are often ruled to serve the best interests of the children.