How can a man who has custody of his child still have to pay child support? ?

[Mindy]

I think the magic words have already been said. The custody order needs to be changed. Simply having the child in possession doesn't make custody. Custody is set by the courts and a judges order. As long as the mom has legal custody, the child support order stands. He can't just stop paying; she could turn that around and say "oh I was just being nice and allowing him a long visit and I was coming to pick up him/her this weekend". Now she has him in contempt of court for failure to pay child support.

You can get emergency hearings and temporary sole custody but I don't know what the requirements are to fall into that category. Seek legal advice, many lawyers offer "free consult" with a first visit. Try your states legal aid and see if he qualifies for that. Scour the internet for your states rules and laws.

He needs to document to the minute of the times he has him, what he's spending on his care. Food, supplies, clothes, babysitters EVERYTHING! When I was a teenager I babysat for a divorced dad in this exact same situation. He was paying something around $600 a month to this broad and she was dropping the boy off for days at a time to go and party. I babysat while the dad worked. My mom made me only charge him $10 per night (regardless of how many hours it was) to help him out. In time he did get sole custody of the boy but it took over a year of this meticulous record keeping to prove her poor parenting skills.

There is hope but it takes hard work!