If you are the non-custodial parent of a child, you could be paying child support. While this is a great way to ensure your child is taken care of, it could get overwhelming with everything else you have going on in your life. If you’ve begun to wonder if all the other financial things you’ve done for your child can be used as credit for child support, you may want to speak with your lawyer.
Gifts
If you have given your child gifts, even if those gifts included cash, you typically can’t be credited for child support. Gifts are something that everyone can give, and it’s your choice to do so. Being required by the court to pay child support is a different matter. Can you give gifts to your child’s other parent in place of child support? Again, it’s a voluntary gift, so it wouldn’t typically replace any type of support.
There is the possibility you made special arrangements during your custody battle that included gifts being a form of child support. Perhaps you decide to give a certain amount of money to your child at each birthday, but it is intended to go into a trust to use for college. If first cleared by the court, it could be considered credit for child support.
Healthcare
It’s important that items such as healthcare are discussed during the original child custody case. If your child needs extra healthcare that is beyond the typical yearly physical, you may decide to help pay for it. If it has been approved and arranged by the court ahead of time, something such as this could be considered a portion of your child support arrangement. It’s also possible you’ll be asked to pay more in child support to help pay for high healthcare costs, so it can really go either way.
Extracurriculars
Kids seem to be involved in everything. In addition to the typical school supply costs and fees, they want to do sports, music, theater, and a wide range of other activities. All of these activities cost money. If it has been court-approved ahead of time, there is a possibility you could pay for these extracurricular activities in place of child support.
Contacting Your Lawyer
You want to do what’s best for your child, even if it’s complicated. To learn more about how you can get credit for purchases made in addition to child support, contact a child support lawyer, like a child support lawyer in Rockville, MD, today.
Thanks to the Law Office of Daniel J. Wright for their insight into what does and does not count as contributing to child support.