Many individuals believe that child support can only cover a child’s bare necessities, such as food and clothing. However, this is not so — it also covers other areas pertaining to the child as well. Child support is intended to cover many different types of expenses including school fees, entertainment, extracurricular activities, medical expenses and many other things. When parents in New York are going through either a separation or a divorce and they need legal advice regarding the types of expenses that child support covers, they typically consult a divorce attorney to gain insights into this aspect of child support.
Besides the basics, child support can also cover other things, including medical care. Children require basic medical care, so it is usually required for the separated or divorced parents to get health insurance coverage for their children. Whichever parent has the better employer health care benefits is typically the one who is required to pay for the medical, dental and vision insurance plan. Child support may be used for paying any uninsured medical expenses, including surgeries, co-pays, deductibles and even dental braces, eyeglasses and more.
Child support may also be used for extracurricular activities, which often include sports activities, summer camps and clubs like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. An additional accepted use is to pay for basic transportation and travel. This might include car maintenance, gas, payments, insurance, registration or public transportation costs.
When it comes to child support cases in New York, family courts seek to address the essential financial needs of children, which will factor into the child support order. When either a child’s needs change or the parents’ circumstances change significantly, it may be necessary for one of the parents to file what’s known as a modification of existing child support. Parents who do this typically consult with an experienced family law attorney first to understand the process.
Source: FindLaw, “What does child support cover?“, Accessed on Dec. 21, 2015
