07/01/2026
Starting tomorrow, 50/50 child custody as the standard becomes the law and this will also change how child support is calculated.
Mississippi’s new 50/50 custody law changes how child support may be calculated when a court awards joint custody with equal parenting time. Instead of one parent automatically paying the full guideline amount, the court calculates what each parent would owe, subtracts the smaller amount from the larger amount, and orders the higher-earning parent to pay the difference. For example, if one parent’s guideline amount is $700 and the other parent’s is $420, the higher-earning parent would pay $280 per month. This could lower child support payments in some 50/50 custody cases, unless a judge finds a reason to order something different.
