Child support is the payment of money by a parent for the benefit of their child or children. In Texas, noncustodial parents often have child support obligations that they must provide to their children’s custodial parents to help with the economic burdens of child-rearing. Depending on their income and the number of children they must support, a parents child support obligation can greatly vary.
There are many expenses that can be paid with child support, and this post will discuss some of them. However, if a parent has concerns about how child support is being used in their own family, they can ask their trusted family law attorney for help. This post does not provide legal advice and no reader should rely on its contents as specific items.
Children’s direct needs
Some of the most obvious uses of child support relate to children’s direct needs. These can include but are not limited to food, shelter, clothing, and medical care. Similarly, child support can be used to pay for a child’s educational expenses, insurance, and transportation. If a custodial parent works and requires childcare, child support may also be used to pay for such services.
Additional appropriate expenses
There are other costs that can be covered by child support. If parents live far apart, child support may be used to pay for travel costs related to moving the child between households. Child support may be applicable for extracurricular expenses, entertainment expenses, and even college expenses depending on the children’s ages.
There is a range of possible uses for child support and Texas parents should be prepared to understand how these and other costs may be covered with the financial payments they provide to support their children. Computing child support can be a complicated process as the state uses a complex formula for determining how much the parent may owe. To better understand these and other topics related to child support in Texas, readers are encouraged to seek the counsel of their trusted family law attorneys.
