In the eyes of the law, the raising of children, and the maintenance of a standard of living adequate for their development, are the responsibilities of both parents, and fundamental human rights for the children.

When parents separate or divorce, financial responsibility remains with both parents, regardless of where the children live, or with whom they spend time. In family law, the term “child support” refers to regular payments made to one parent by the other for the financial benefit of the children. Child support is often written into the divorce decree, or the child custody and visitation order.

Definition for child support provided by legaldictionary.net.