Child support payments must cover certain necessities

One of the aspects of a child custody case that is often contentious is child support payments. This financial support is paid by one parent to the other parent for the benefit of the children. It is used to pay for the expenses of the child; however, it is normally comingled with other household funds. The parent who receives the payments won’t have to account for the use of the money. Instead, they simply have to ensure that the kids have life’s basic necessities.

There are cases in which a paying parent might question whether the money is actually going to the children. In this instance, they need to look at whether the child has adequate shelter, food, clothing, and other needs. As long as they do, there is very little chance that the court will do anything about how the parent is spending the funds that are handed over to them.

The parent who receives these support payments will have to add more money to the child’s life needs. In almost every case, child support payments aren’t enough to pay for the child’s necessities and other things like medical care costs, education expenses, and extracurricular fees. The paying parent also needs to realize that child support money is sometimes used to cover things like transportation, child care, and entertainment.

It is imperative that both parents fully understand the child support payments order, so they can ensure it is being followed appropriately. When there are deviations from it, such as if a parent isn’t paying or the recipient isn’t providing the child with their basic needs, the court might need to get involved.