As you move through the divorce process, you may have to learn more about the details of child support.
It’s important for both parents to understand what child support covers. With this knowledge, it’s much easier for both individuals to remain on the same page.
In the past, it was believed that child support should only be used for basic necessities such as food and clothing. However, people in today’s world are beginning to realize that this is not true. Instead, these payments can be used to cover a variety of expenses, such as:
— Food, clothing, and shelter. It goes without saying that child support should be used to cover these basic necessities above all others.
— Medical care. Children will require medical care from time to time, with most states requiring that divorced parents have some type of coverage for their child.
— Education related expenses. This can include but is not limited to school clothes, textbooks, tutors and tuition fees.
— Childcare. There are times when one or both parents need help raising their child. In this case, childcare may be necessary. Child support can be used to cover the cost of childcare, such as daycare or a babysitter.
— Extracurricular activities. This includes many things, such as school sports teams, dance classes and other similar activities.
As you can see, child support can be used for a number of expenses. As a parent going through divorce, you want to better understand how much child support one parent will pay as well as how the money will be used by the other person.
Source: FindLaw, “What Does Child Support Cover?,” accessed April 04, 2017