Arkansas Child Custody, Visitation, and Child Support: The Basics

Under Arkansas law, when a couple with children divorces or enters into a legal separation, parents may make their own custody and visitation arrangements if they choose. If their custody agreement is reasonable, the court ratifies it as part of the divorce decree. If parents cannot agree, the judge makes custody, visitation, and child support orders.

Arkansas courts follow a "best interest of the child" rule when determining child custody and visitation rights. All things being equal, Arkansas law favors joint custody whenever possible. Joint custody means both parents share parenting time and responsibility.

Arkansas Child Custody Basics

Arkansas, like most states, has abandoned the "tender years" doctrine that says young children should remain with the mother in a divorce. Courts recognize that both parents must share custody of the children for everyone's benefit.

Child custody cases settle two aspects of a child's life: physical custody and legal custody. Parents should cooperate in making decisions for their child's best interests. Even after divorce, they should be as open-minded as possible about the other's decision-making abilities for the child.

Physical custody involves the child's living arrangements. If a 50/50 custody arrangement is not possible, one parent will be the custodial parent. This can happen when one parent lives far away from a child's school district. Physical custody concerns food, clothing, shelter, and daily routine.

Legal custody involves decisions about schooling, religion, healthcare, and emergencies. Like most states, Arkansas prefers joint legal custody where the child's parents are equally involved in the child's life. If one parent refuses to cooperate with the other or is not in a position to participate (for instance, deployed overseas), then the other parent may receive sole custody.

Arkansas Visitation Basics

An Arkansas custody order includes a visitation schedule. A joint custody agreement may have parents exchange custody every other week or a similar schedule to accommodate the child's school schedule.

If parents agree on another schedule, the noncustodial parent must have equal parenting time. For instance, if the child lives with one parent from Monday through Friday to attend school, the noncustodial parent must receive additional visitation time.

If parents cannot agree or have no special circumstances to consider, judges have standard visitation schedules they can include in a custody agreement.

Like custody agreements, visitation schedules focus on the best interest of the child over the desires of the parents. Judges will work with parents to craft a schedule for special circumstances, such as a parent who lives out of state or travels extensively. Other special circumstances may include:

• Sibling and grandparent visitation rights: Adult siblings, grandparents, and other relatives of minor children can petition the court for reasonable visitation rights. They must prove the parent has denied such visitation and that visitation is in the best interest of the child.
• Child's preference: If the child is of sufficient age and has the capacity to reason, the judge can consider their desires when making custody decisions and visitation orders.
• Other visitation issues: Allegations of domestic violence, drug abuse, or criminal behavior can affect visitation rights.

Custody and visitation are separate issues from child support payments. The type of custody arrangement parents have does not affect their obligation to pay child support.

Arkansas Child Support

Arkansas child support guidelines changed as of January 2024. All child support orders entered after June 2020 were recalculated according to the new guidelines.

Child support aims to give the child the same standard of living enjoyed in the home before the divorce. The child should spend the same amount of time in each home. Each parent should spend an equal amount of money on the child as they would have in a two-parent home.

In Arkansas, guidelines have a base child support amount based on the parents' combined monthly incomes. The court may adjust the child support amount based on the time spent with each parent.

Judges may alter the amount of child support depending on the disparity of the parents' incomes and other factors. Other needs judges consider when making child support orders include:

• Health insurance and medical care
• School and educational needs
• Entertainment

Child support obligations and visitation rights are independent of one another. The payor parent may not withhold support payments if visitation is denied. The custodial parent may not deny visitation if support payments have not been made. The court must handle these issues.

Get Legal Advice From an Arkansas Family Law Attorney

Some of the biggest legal arguments in a divorce come during the custody and support discussions. If you're considering divorce or need to change a support court order, consider discussing your case with an experienced Arkansas family law attorney. Putting their legal expertise to work for you can make a huge difference.