Cancellation of child support in joint custody is an issue that arises when parents divorce and joint custody is set for the children. For years, child support obligations were determined according to Jewish law, but following a precedent-setting court ruling the rules changed, and today it is possible to cancel child support in joint custody.
What is joint custody, is joint custody without child support possible, and how do you apply to cancel a child support obligation? All of this and more in the article below.
Before canceling child support: what is joint custody?
Joint custody divides the responsibility for raising the children, and the time the children live with each parent, equally between the father and the mother when the parents divorce. The decision on joint custody also affects child support, an issue that often produces bitter disputes between the parties.
Child support – what does Jewish law say?
Child support has three components: essential needs, housing, and support owed as charity. Essential needs are basics such as food, clothing, education, and medical care. Housing means participation in rent or in the running costs of the home, such as electricity, gas, and municipal taxes, while support owed as charity covers needs that go beyond the essentials, such as after-school activities, entertainment, and psychological treatment.
Jewish law distinguishes between three age groups: from birth to age six, from age six to age fifteen, and from age fifteen to age eighteen. Until recently, the civil courts followed this division: the father paid full child support for children in the first age group; from age six to age fifteen he paid for essential needs; and from age fifteen to eighteen the obligation is one of charity and falls on both parents equally. Even when children were raised in joint custody, the courts tended to follow Jewish law and did not approve canceling child support in joint custody.
Canceling child support in joint custody – the ruling that changed the rules
A precedent-setting ruling held that where children are raised in joint custody and the separated spouses earn similar salaries, or where the mother earns more than the father, there is no reason to order the father to pay child support, and it ruled to cancel the child support in that joint custody case.
The new rule on canceling child support in joint custody applies mainly to children between the ages of six and fifteen who live with each of the separated parents equally, that is, in joint custody.
In the appeal filed with the Supreme Court in Jerusalem against the precedent-setting ruling, the justices likewise ruled unanimously to cancel child support in joint custody cases. In doing so they created a precedent and changed the legal rule that had applied until then under the influence of Jewish law. The justices held that, in keeping with the principle of gender equality, where the condition of joint custody is met there is room to cancel child support, provided the parents’ income levels are similar.
So is joint custody without child support actually possible? The answer is yes, but only on condition that the parents’ income levels are similar.
How do you cancel child support in joint custody?
When one of the parents, usually the father, wants to cancel child support payments in joint custody, he must file a claim with the Family Court or the rabbinical court, in the forum that held the original hearing on the amount of child support. For example, if the amount was set in divorce proceedings at the rabbinical court or in the Family Court in Jerusalem, the claim to cancel child support in joint custody is filed with that same rabbinical court or Family Court in Jerusalem. If the divorce case was handled in the Family Court or the rabbinical court in Tel Aviv, the claim is filed there, and the same applies wherever you live and wherever the divorce case was decided.
Our tip: file the claim through a lawyer who specializes in family law. Canceling child support in joint custody is a complex and complicated claim whose outcome depends heavily on the court’s judgment. A professional attorney with experience and knowledge can help you obtain the legal relief you seek.
A precedent-setting ruling now allows a request to cancel child support in joint custody
Divorce between parents of children is not a simple process, and the amount of child support is usually the main bone of contention. To this day, in almost every divorce agreement, the child support obligation has fallen mostly on the father. Today, however, if the parents earn similar incomes and the children are raised in joint custody, there are grounds to file a claim to cancel child support in joint custody.
* Updated for 2026
