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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Orders Custodial Parent to Pay Child Support

By Lynne Z. Gold-Bikin
August 31, 2004

In a case of first impression in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court, the highest appellate court in the state, granted allocatur to consider whether a trial court may order a parent with primary custody of a child to pay child support to the non-custodial parent. Finding that in certain circumstances they may do so, the court has now ordered a custodial father to pay child support to the mother of his children, despite the fact they he has custody of them 73% of the time. In Colonna v. Colonna, No. 36 WAP 2002, decided (Pa. Super. April 29, 2004), the court said, “The temptation for the well-off parent to buy the affection of the children, and the tendency of the children to favor the parent who provides them with a more attractive lifestyle are factors that do not serve the best interests of the children.”

The Case

The Colonna case involved a situation in which the parties had shared custody of the children on a more or less equal basis. During that time, the father had paid child support in the amount of $73,584 per year, plus mortgage, insurance and car insurance. The order was ultimately reduced to $3132 per month. In 1998, the father was awarded primary custody of the children, and the mother was awarded partial custody of one or more of the children on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the school year. The parties alternated holidays and weekends throughout the year, and each parent had 2 weeks with the children for summer vacation.

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