What Does Child Support Cover?

Exes often get into bitter arguments about how child support is spent. So what exactly does child support cover?

Child support ensures the parent who lives outside of the child's primary household — or who has more income in joint physical custody situations — contributes their fair share to the child's upbringing.

Whether you're paying or receiving support, you should know about appropriate support spending.

What can child support be used for?

Many child support guidelines define the basic support obligation as the minimum a parent should contribute to their child's basic expenses, like food, shelter and clothing. The amount is based on the parent's income and number of children.

By agreement or court order, that amount can also account for other expenses, including:

• Child care
• School tuition
• Transportation
• Health insurance
• Medical costs not covered by health insurance (e.g., co-pays)

Support can also go towards expenses that are not spelled out in the guidelines or a court order but are necessary for the child's welfare (e.g., utilities at the child's primary home).

While this is what child support is intended to cover, recipients do not have to track how they spend it or keep it separate from their other money.

Recipients who also get public assistance benefiting their child may have some of their child support deducted to reimburse the government.

Do I have to pay for extracurricular activities if I pay child support?

Support orders rarely require the support payer to cover all expenses for extracurricular activities. More commonly, parents are to split the costs evenly or in proportion to their income (e.g., the parent earning 60% of the combined income pays 60% of the extracurricular costs).

If parents agree, they can specify in their parenting plan exactly how they will split extracurricular activity fees.

If you signed an agreement to cover 100% of an extracurricular cost, and it was approved by a judge, then you must pay the full amount.

On the other hand, if the local law and your court order do not address paying for extracurriculars, you probably don't have to pay for them. But you may still agree to help the other parent with these costs.

Is the custodial parent required to provide clothing?

Yes. In fact, both parents have to provide the child with clothing and other necessities during their parenting time, regardless of whether you have 50/50 custody or 80/20 custody.

What if the child support isn't enough to cover my child's costs?

The child support payment should only cover part of your child's needs. The parent receiving the support also has to contribute their own money to the child's costs. In the end, the child should receive financial support similar to what they would get if the parents were in one household pooling money.

What can I do if the custodial parent is misspending child support?

Support laws generally don't require recipients to disclose how they spend child support. Courts only care whether or not the child's needs are met.

If you believe your child is not being properly cared for, you can ask the court to make you the child's primary caretaker. You'll need strong evidence for the judge to change custody.

What can I do if the noncustodial parent isn't paying child support?

Contact the child support enforcement office in your area to address nonpayment of support. The office can take action to convince a parent to pay support, for example by:

• Suspending their driver's license
• Putting liens on their property
• Seizing their tax refunds
• Giving them jail time

If you're struggling to pay support, the enforcement office may be able to help you make a payment plan.

How can I make sure we each contribute our fair share?

Staying on top of child-related spending can be time-consuming — and expensive if you're constantly going back to court. While knowing what child support covers is a good start, technology can help you avoid arguments over who's paying their fair share.

Custody X Change makes it easy to hold parents accountable:

• Create a parenting plan detailing exactly how you'll share expenses not covered by child support.



• Track expenses so you have proof of what you paid and can get reimbursed for shared expenses. Attach receipts for added validity.



• Communicate with your co-parent in writing about unexpected expenses and missed support payments.

Ensuring your child receives the financial support they need is easy with Custody X Change.