I've been divorced for five years now and have very little contact with my former wife or our child. I'm sorry about that but I have a new life now. I've never missed a single child support payment but I'm constantly being asked by my ex to send money to pay for half of some expense she claims is required for the child like medical bills, braces, and other things. I was under the understanding that my child support was supposed to be used for that kind of thing and that I wouldn't have to pay for anything else. That's why I agreed to pay the amount of child support I agreed to. So can I tell by ex it's time for me to cut off the funds? What does Massachusetts law say about the issue of what my child support is supposed to be used for?
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The Editor, Mark Bernardin, is an attorney living in MA. Please send your suggestions or comments to: TheEditor@malawforum.com
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The answers and information provided on this site are for informational purposes only and are NOT substitutes for professional legal advice. Before making legal decisions, you should discuss your specific circumstances with an attorney.
What expenses does child support cover?
Your question is common and better asked before you enter into a legal agreement. The child support guidelines generally are thought to cover food, clothing and shelter. They are based on a common co-parenting schedule where the non-custodial parent sees the children once during the week and every other weekend. The child support transfer payment does not cover after school activities, clubs, sports, and extra schooling help. In addition, the child support payment does not cover uninsured medicals or post high school educational expenses. In setting the support payment, if a parent spends more than the normal parenting time (as mentioned above, the payment may be somewhat less; whereas, if the parent spends less parenting time, the payment may be higher. The after school expenses are usually paid 50/50 or according to parents income disparity. As to the uninsured medical expenses, the first $250 per year is paid for by the custodial parent, expenses in excess of the $250, are then paid 50/50 by each parent or according to the disparity in income of the parents.
If you entered into an agreement all this should be set out, if not you should seek a modification to clarify these unaddressed issues. If you have yet to enter into an agreement, your mediator or attorney should cover all these important issues for you.
Attorney Allan Baron
Proper use of child support and other expense obligations
I agree. Child support is intended to cover the basics of day to day living, things like food, clothes, shelter, toiletries, etc. Generally speaking, the support you pay for your child is not intended to cover other additional and foreseeable expenses such as medical bills not covered by insurance, dental needs not covered by insurance, tuition for private schools, or fees related to typical extracurricular activities, like clubs. If you turned the tables and imagined that you had custody of your child, I would guess that would understand the logic of expecting help from your ex for these reasonable and unavoidable expenses, especially if you and your ex are on relatively similar economic grounds. Also, if you have children from your second marriage, you can imagine all the many things your ex wife buys for your child on weekly basis without asking you to contribute, such as entertainment (movies, etc.).
It would be great, and certainly in the best interest of your child if you and your ex could come to an agreement regarding these additional expenses. If not, in order to avoid costly disputes involving lawyers and courts, you might consider divorce mediation. Good luck.
Better Answer (please)
I politely disagree, requesting a more reasoned answer. Here's why:
As we all know, many years ago the Federal Government required states to formulate child support guidelines. The gold standard for the cost of raising a child are the numbers from U.S. Department of Agriculture, revised yearly. See here for the current numbers: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/calculator.htm
In the Northeast, the cost of raising a child is $12,000 to $13,000 a year (in 2013) according to the USDA. The referenced URL breaks down the expenses by category, with the webpage further detailing the expenses they included (I've pasted in a copy below). Note that many of them are daily expenses and many of them are supplemental to basic living.
Here's my point:
If you are paying $100 per week ($5,200 per year), you are paying less than half the costs. A request to share incidental expenses not covered by the notes below would be reasonable.
If you are paying $500 per week ($26,000 per year), you are paying more than twice the cost of raising that child, and that ignores that the custodial parent should also be contributing 25% of their income to support the child. If you are this latter case of a non-custodial parent paying far above the USDA cost to raise a child, I do not see why the parent paying child support should pay or share incidental expenses.
Can Attorney Allan or the Editor elaborate further?
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From the USDA expense caculator: Things the USDA includes in their cost-of-raising a child estimate:
Housing expenses consist of shelter (mortgage payments, property taxes, or rent; maintenance and repairs; and insurance), utilities (gas, electricity, fuel, cell/telephone, and water), and house furnishings and equipment (furniture, floor coverings, major appliances, and small appliances).
Food expenses consist of food and nonalcoholic beverages purchased at grocery, convenience, and specialty stores; dining at restaurants; and household expenditures on school meals.
Transportation expenses consist of the monthly payments on vehicle loans, down payments, gasoline and motor oil, maintenance and repairs, insurance, and public transportation (including airline fares).
Clothing expenses consist of children’s apparel such as diapers, shirts, pants, dresses, and suits; footwear; and clothing services such as dry cleaning, alterations, and repair.
Health care expenses consist of medical and dental services not covered by insurance, prescription drugs and medical supplies not covered by insurance, and health insurance premiums not paid by an employer or other organization. Medical services include those related to physical and mental health.
Child care and education expenses consist of day care tuition and supplies; baby-sitting; and elementary and high school tuition, books, fees, and supplies. Books, fees, and supplies may be for private or public schools. The average child care and education expenses used in the Calculator are based on families who have these expenses. If you do not have these expenses, expenditures on a child should be adjusted to account for this
Proper use of child support payments in MA
I'll stick with my original answer. The parties, or the court, come up with an amount of child support, intended to cover the basics. Expenses beyond that, such as unforeseen medical or dental expenses and other important requirements, things you refer to as "incidental expenses," should be shared in an equitable manner.