Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Where is the support money going???

Should fathers have a say in how their support payments are spent?

Child support is a heated topic. Just mention child support and you can expect a wide range of different responses. Like politics and religion, nothing draws out anger and frustration like a conversation about child support. 

In most support cases, Dad is the payer, and Mom is the payee. Of course, there are times when the mom is the payer and the dad is the payee, yet this occurs less often. The intended purpose of child support is to help pay for a child’s expenses. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for Dad to disagree with Mom over how she spends the support payments.

Dad may consider food, clothing, and shelter as the basic necessities covered by child support. But mom may spend her child support payments on vacations, sport fees, or private school tuition. She may also make requests to increase support for activities Dad may not feel are necessary. For instance, Dad, may prefer that his child attend public school and not travel overseas until they are older. He may also understandably feel as though the costs of a vacation trip to not be considered a necessity. 

Unfortunately, courts often remain silent on how mothers should spend their payments. Some Dads think Moms should provide itemized receipts. A father may feel he has a right to know how the mother of his children spend child support payments. Mom may disagree and feel she can spend the payments as she feels necessary. 

An example of this occurs too often with both men and women professional athletes. Simply because a father has what appears to be a "large contract," it does not mean that the mother has to find ways to spend large amounts of money each month and now call it a "necessity."

Family law courtrooms make life-altering decisions daily and many times the decisions are not in the best interest of all involved. Therefore, mediation or a third party intervention could be in the best interest of the parents and children.  Remember the advice in the book, "Forever My Daddy: Denied" … AVOID THE COURTROOM.  Matter of fact, parents having discussions about finances before marriage and children in pre-marital counseling sessions is always recommended. Sometimes prenuptial agreements will attempt to address these concerns.

If parents cannot agree, a third-party would intervene. Do you have a child support question? Contact us today

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