Can divorcing spouses agree that neither will pay child support to the other?

Neither party has the right to waive child support since child support is the benefit of the child, meaning the child owns that right. However, there is case law which provides that the parties can take on the other party’s responsibility for support. Let’s use an easy example: if Dad is a Wall Street executive and he is going to have primary custody of the party’s children, then Mom would have a very de minimis child support obligation. The parties can agree that dad would take on mom’s financial burden. Now at any point the parties can, if they’ve waived support, go back to court and ask the court and ask the court to enter a support award because it is the right of the child.

Abigale M. Stolfe is a partner at Stolfe Zeigler, a boutique family law firm that obtains favorable outcomes for high-net-worth, complex, and litigious cases.