These are just a handful of the reasons why a parent may be required to continue paying child support under shared custody situations. The overarching premise is that divorced children are entitled to the same amount of financial assistance as their married parents. Child support agreements guarantee that this occurs. Shared custody means that the noncustodial parent shares physical custody of the child with the custodial parent. This can be in one-day-a-week, two-days-a-week, or some other arrangement. Shared custody does not mean that the noncustodial parent gets less time with the child than the standard visitation schedule. If this was the case, then full custody would be awarded to both parents. Some states may require parties to share custody if they cannot agree on an arrangement themselves. In these cases, a judge will help them come up with an acceptable solution that is best for the child. Finally, shared custody can be ordered by a court if it is found to be in the best interest of the child. For example, if one parent lives out of state and there is no way to ensure that they are contributing financially to the child's benefit, then the court might order shared custody in order to give the child the maximum opportunity to spend time with both parents.