The bill proposes to amend existing child support laws in South Dakota by repealing provisions related to the shared parenting child support cross credit. Specifically, it seeks to amend Section 25-7-6.14 to clarify that if a child resides with the noncustodial parent for six or more nights in a month, the court may grant an abatement of child support obligations ranging from thirty-eight to sixty-six percent for those nights. The burden of proof for demonstrating increased costs incurred by the noncustodial parent due to the child's time spent with them is placed on the noncustodial parent. Additionally, if the noncustodial parent does not utilize the extended parenting time in a given year, they are required to repay the abated child support amount to the custodial parent.

Furthermore, the bill amends Section 25-7-6.28 to define residency for child support purposes and allows for abatement conditions based on a parent's work schedule. The repeal of Section 25-7-6.27 eliminates the previous shared parenting child support cross credit system, which calculated support obligations based on the number of nights a child spent with each parent and included a detailed formula for determining financial responsibilities. This change aims to simplify the child support process and remove the presumption of shared parenting time, allowing for more straightforward calculations of child support obligations.

Statutes affected:
Introduced, 01/29/2026: 25-7-6.14, 25-7-6.28, 25-7-6.27