Child support exists to make sure both parents provide adequate financial support to their children, irrespective of how they perceive one another. Custodial parents are responsible for using these funds to meet their child’s needs, and while they are not legally required to account for this spending, providing flexibility on how they spend this money, they should be utilizing these resources in a certain manner. Understand whether parents must account for what child support is used for, and discover how King Law Offices can assist parents with their family law queries; speak to an experienced South Carolina family law attorney from our firm today by calling (888) 748-KING.
What is Child Support?
Per the South Carolina Bar, child support refers to payments that a parent without physical custody makes to the other parent to support their child’s upbringing. South Carolina courts set child support based on state guidelines, taking into consideration both parents’ gross income, as well as health insurance, alimony, significant medical expenses, child care costs, and whether the parents have additional children. Adjusting child support is possible if the parents’ circumstances change significantly, such as if a parent loses their job, experiences a sudden decrease in earnings, or has sustained an injury, disability, or medical condition; in this scenario, it is necessary to promptly file for a child support modification.
If a parent fails to make these payments, this could constitute contempt of court, carrying potential penalties of a maximum fine of $1,500 and/or a maximum jail sentence of a year. Child support only ends after the filing of a motion to end this obligation, or if a court orders the payments to stop, but this support usually finishes once the child completes high school and turns 18. That said, child support may continue beyond this milestone if the child has a disability or higher education requirements.
Do Parents Have to Account for What Child Support is Used for?
Parents do not generally have to account for how they utilize child support unless a court stipulates that the parent receiving the child support has to do this (a rare occurrence that only happens in some states if a judge thinks this is appropriate or if a paying parent can demonstrate a valid reason for this type of investigation), which means it can be difficult to challenge how a recipient spends these funds unless it is clear that the parent receiving these payments is failing to meet the child’s needs in terms of welfare, safety, or health. For instance, if the parent uses these funds to pay for a luxury car while meeting the child’s needs, disputing this would be challenging, but if the parent purchases the same good instead of a child’s clothing and food, it could be possible to ask child services or the court to investigate the matter. If there is a mere disagreement regarding the spending habits of the custodial parent, child support agencies and the courts are unlikely to intervene.
Find out more about a parent’s obligations regarding what child support is used for, and consider discussing any child support queries with a seasoned South Carolina family law attorney. Contact King Law Offices today to schedule a consultation with a member of our legal team.
What Are the Rules for Child Support?
When calculating child support, the end result should be sufficient to fund a child’s basic requirements at a minimum, and the parent receiving these funds should ensure they meet these needs but may also opt to spend these funds on a child’s medical expenses, child care, extracurricular activities, and school tuition if they can already fund the child’s fundamental needs. Below is an explanation of these different expenses in relation to child support.
Basic Needs
A child’s basic needs include clothing, food, and housing. Specifically, parents may use child support payments to ensure their child has appropriately sized clothing suitable for every season and access to healthy food, make sure they can pay mortgage payments or rent on a property that safely houses their child, and cover transportation costs associated with the child, such as bus fares, fuel, car payments, and other expenses linked with transporting the child between home, school, extracurricular activities, and family visits.
Medical Care
When calculating child support, a court considers the child’s medical care costs, meaning the expectation is that the recipient should use child support payments to cover these expenses, such as the cost of obtaining basic medical insurance. Often, child support calculations only relate to basic medical expenses, rather than significant ones, and if the child is eligible for state-funded medical insurance, the court may not consider these costs when determining appropriate child support payments.
Child Care
Child care is another appropriate area for parents to spend child support payments on since the court may consider this expense when calculating child support. Depending on the state, a court may require child support payments to cover half of these costs, with the custodial parent funding the rest, or they may consider each parent’s earnings and the amount of time the child spends with each parent when deciding how to split this expense.
School and College Tuition
Some states consider private school tuition fees during child support calculations, and even if they do not, it would be appropriate for parents receiving child support to use this money on this expense provided they can fund the child’s other needs. Other examples of suitable expenses in this category include field trip costs and the costs of school supplies, such as stationery. Additionally, courts may decide to prolong child support beyond secondary education, depending on what the parents expect of the child in terms of their career and education, the parents’ financial circumstances, the child’s access to financial support, and the child’s extent of financial dependency, which means recipient parents may decide to use child support payments to cover college tuition.
Other Expenses
Recipients of child support might choose to use these funds to cover the costs of a child’s extracurricular activities, instrument or uniform costs, summer camp fees, extraordinary health expenses, and tutoring. Worth noting is that not all child support calculations consider these expenses, but it could be appropriate for a recipient to spend the funds on these areas if they can already meet the child’s fundamental, educational, child care, and medical care requirements.
Continue This Discussion with a South Carolina Family Law Attorney
After the finalization of child support payments, the courts typically provide little oversight concerning how parents use these funds, primarily due to the resources required to do this and that it could lead to additional and unnecessary litigation. If a parent suspects that the other parent is not using child support appropriately, they could consider mediation, paying for certain expenses directly, approaching a local child support agency, such as the South Carolina Department of Social Services, or reaching out to an attorney. To learn more about whether parents have to account for what child support is used for, and to understand the legal options available to parents who believe an improper use of these funds is taking place, contact a knowledgeable South Carolina family law attorney; call King Law Offices today at (888) 748-KING to book a confidential consultation.