The Child Support Delimna

Child support is one of those nasty little surprises that come out of divorce, along with it’s cousin, Alimony.  Child support payments can sneak up on you if you haven’t prepared for it and you don’t want to miss them.  Accrue too much back child support and the state can and will prosecute you and put you in jail.   I’ve put together some tips on how to handle it.

Get Legal Advice
If you are not yet required by court order to pay support I recommend talking to a lawyer.  Your legal counsel can help you determine what you need to be prepared for and what your rights are.  When in doubt, pay out.  (That’s my unofficial advice.)  The last thing you want to do is go through several months of divorce without determining child support and get stuck having to pay child support for all of those months.

Pay On Time
Most states provide a voucher for you to fill out and send in with your child support.  I get a letter every month that shows me how much is due and when.  The statement from the Nebraska Child Support Agency also includes the amount of my previous payments.  Keep track of when it’s due and pay it on time!  If you let it slip you may catch yourself falling behind.

Some status offer direct withdrawal from your checking account.  I opted for this method which ensure it’s always on time.  You can even setup more than one payment a month if you can’t afford to drop all of it at once.

Budget Your Money
Keep a budget and make sure you have enough to cover your  payments.  You also need to keep track of additional costs that you pay, to include medical insurance and daycare.  Some states automatically add daycare to your child support and some compute it separately.  Your child support agreement will specify which method you are bound to.

Keep Your Finances To Yourself
If you are like me, you want to ensure that your child is taken care of.  This means that sometimes you may want to give some extra for things like dance classes, school equipment and the like.  That’s great and I salute you for it, just don’t let yourself think that it counts as child support.  Every state will consider that a gift of money and not count it as support.  If you find that you are paying out gobs of money for things you may want to challenge your ex as to where your support is going.

Keep Cool
The biggest gripe of child support is that you don’t know where the money goes.  Just keep in mind you’re doing your part for caring for your child.  I would love to track the receipts of my ex but no one wants to be the receipt police.  If you think your child is suffering and you have some proof that there may be neglect it could be time to talk to your lawyer.

Child support is required to be paid and you don’t want to be a “deadbeat” dad.  (I really loathe that term.)   A few simple steps can help you stay in the black and provide timely support your kids need.