Child support can, unfortunately, become quite a financial burden for fathers that don't receive primary custody of their children.  Even some fathers with joint custody find themselves still footing the bill for child care and financial support of their kids. Child support is often looked on negatively by fathers, but positively by mothers, as they tend to be the recipients and decision makers of how to spend this monthly income.

There are some tricks in the courtroom that can be utilized to keep your child support low.  It's important, however, to know that each state has its own guidelines as to how they typically calculate child support payments, but there are ways to deviate from this formula.  This may mean showing your income over a longer period of time, say 2-3 years back, to show that your current income was not always the income you received throughout your marriage.  Or perhaps you can provide alimony or maintenance instead of child support.  This way, all your payments are taken out pre-tax and not from your take-home pay like child support is.  This can save you a lot of money in the long run.  Also, consider your ex-wife's employment status—if she doesn't work, you could argue that if she did, she could make a considerable amount of money to support the children on her own, thus arguing to have your child support obligations lowered.  These are all tried-and-true tricks to lowering your child support through the court systems—legally.

Also, consider tax advantages.  By getting tax exemptions and head of household credits, you could also drastically lower your monthly payments to your ex-wife for child support.  Knowing the tricks to the system can help you end up paying little or nothing in child support, regardless of your visitation or custody arrangements.