On child support payments and the costs they cover

If you have children with your spouse and then you decide to get a divorce at some point in the future, there will obviously be a couple of important discussions you need to have. The first is related to child custody, and hopefully the two of you can figure out a joint custody arrangement if that works for your situation. But the other topic you need to be ready for is child support.

Not every case will involve child support, but when it is involved, the spouse that receives the payments may be under the impression that the payments can only be used for very specific reasons. However, this simply isn’t the case. Child support payments can be used for a bevy of bills that relate to the care of your child.

Some costs that people may not think are covered by child support payments include things such as entertainments costs (going to a movie or paying for internet), transportation costs (such as bus fare for your child), and extracurricular activities (such as sports and after-school clubs).

The basics are obviously covered. This means that food, shelter, and clothing are all costs that child support payments can pay for. And then there are medical costs and educational fees and costs, which can also be paid for by child support.

In other words, there are many different bills that can be covered by child support payments. Don’t believe the myth that these payments are narrow in scope.

Source: FindLaw, “What Does Child Support Cover?,” Accessed April 6, 2018