What Does Child Support Cover?
Child support payments can provide crucial financial support for your children, but it can sometimes be unclear what these payments actually cover. Many parents receiving child support may wonder if the funds are only meant to cover basic necessities or if they can also go toward extracurricular activities, medical expenses, and education costs.
Understanding what child support covers can be tricky, but it's important to understand what these payments cover. Keep reading to learn what expenses can be covered by child support payments.
What Is Child Support?
Child support is a legally required payment made by the non-custodial parent to their child's custodial parent. It is designed to provide economic assistance to the children and ensure that they receive the same level of financial support they would have had if their parents had not separated. The objective of child support is to uphold the best interests of the children, creating financial stability and security for them.
What Do Child Support Payments Cover?
Basic Needs
Child support is a financial contribution that is designed to help children with their basic necessities. Since parents are responsible for providing food, clothing, and housing for their children, child support can be used to cover these expenses.
Examples of basic needs can include:
- Groceries
- Clothes
- Gas, bus tickets, etc.
- Rent or mortgage payments
It's important to note that child support should always be used for the benefit of the children, as it is intended to ensure that they are properly cared for.
Health Care
Child support payments not only cover basic necessities but also include health insurance costs for children. It's important that children have access to proper health care, and child support can help.
In addition, reasonable health care costs that aren't covered by insurance can also be included in child support payments. This helps ease the financial burden on the custodial parent and ensures that the child's health needs are met.
Childcare
Child support payments are intended to financially support the well-being of a child, but what many people may not know is that they can also be used for childcare costs.
It's important to understand that child support payments should be used for the benefit of the child, and contributing to childcare costs falls into that category. It can also help alleviate financial strain on the custodial parent, as childcare expenses can often be a significant expense.
Add-On Expenses
When determining child support obligations, the court may also consider adding expenses for educational purposes, religious education, and extracurricular/summer activities. These additional expenses are not mandatory, but they may be included in the calculation.
However, if paying the basic child support obligation would leave the non-custodial parent below the self-support reserve of $17,226, or if other circumstances affect their ability to pay, the court may allow for a lesser amount to be paid. The ultimate goal of child support is to ensure the well-being of the child, but fairness to both parents is also taken into consideration.
Contact a Child Support Lawyer
As a parent, it's crucial to understand where your child support payments are going and how they're being used to meet the needs of your child. As your child grows and their needs change, it's important to stay informed about how child support is being applied.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding child support, our experienced team at the Law Office of Dennis R. Vetrano, Jr., LLC can be here to provide the support and guidance you need. With our help, you can make informed decisions regarding your child's financial well-being.
Call us today at (845) 605-4330 to learn more about how we can help, or reach out to us online.