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Extracurricular Expenses | Atlanta Child Support

Scott Shaw | 604 Views | 11/02/2015

Extracurricular Expenses in Atlanta

Hello my name is Scott Shaw founder and principal of Shaw Law Firm LLC. A law firm I founded in 1995. Child custody along with the divorce and other areas of family law are our only area of legal practice. We do not accept any other types of cases. In this video I will be discussing the child support topic of, does the payer or child support also have to pay for the regular unusual extracurricular expenses of their children?

Child Support Payments

This is one of the most misunderstood areas of child support law that I come across and that the parties assume that in addition to paying child support that a party is also responsible for paying for the children’s extra curricular expenses. This is just not true. The amount of child support that is calculated which is called the presumptive amount on the child support worksheet already includes within it an amount sufficient to cover the expected and usual cost of extra curricular activities for the children. So if you agree to pay extra curricular expenses in addition to regular child support you would be paying more child support than the law requires.

In practice how this usually works out is that child support is set and the amount of child support set incorporates within it health care expenses, work or education related child care expenses all which are required by statue. However, then the parties start talking about how to divide up the extra curricular expenses for the children. But what the parties and their attorney’s don’t tell you or simply don’t know is that there’s no requirement under the law for the paying party to pay for extra curricular expenses.

Double Paying

In fact, agreeing to pay for your children’s extracurricular expenses is double paying. This is because the amount of child support that you’re already paying that is calculated on the child support worksheets already includes an allowance for the usual and ordinary expense of extracurricular activities. So your child support amount already includes the money that anticipates what these extracurricular expenses will cost for your children. So agreeing to paying for them in addition to child support is double paying. It’s only if the children have an extraordinary amount of extracurricular expenses.

Let’s say you have a tennis player at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Camp or some ski camp or something that any amount of extra curricular expenses should even be considered when determining child support. Now the parties are always free to pay whatever they want, pay more than the law requires and if you can do so, if you agree to. But do so with full knowledge that you are being very nice and that you are not legally require to do so.

Minimum Child Support Payments

Parties are free to always pay more child support than the law requires but if you agree to do so just do so with full knowledge. That if you are the paying party you do not have to pay for the children’s extra curricular expenses. If you wish to do so that’s a nice thing to do. But it’s not required. So don’t agree to do it in a settlement agreement and don’t allow a court to mistakenly incorporate it in a court order. This is a mistake that is all too often made and once made it is difficult to unmake this mistake. I am Scott Shaw and if you have any questions I welcome your telephone calls and inquires. Thank you.

By: Scott Shaw

Extracurricular Expenses | Atlanta Child Support

Extracurricular Expenses in Atlanta

Hello my name is Scott Shaw founder and principal of Shaw Law Firm LLC. A law firm I founded in 1995. Child custody along with the divorce and other areas of family law are our only area of legal practice. We do not accept any other types of cases. In this video I will be discussing the child support topic of, does the payer or child support also have to pay for the regular unusual extracurricular expenses of their children?

Child Support Payments

This is one of the most misunderstood areas of child support law that I come across and that the parties assume that in addition to paying child support that a party is also responsible for paying for the children’s extra curricular expenses. This is just not true. The amount of child support that is calculated which is called the presumptive amount on the child support worksheet already includes within it an amount sufficient to cover the expected and usual cost of extra curricular activities for the children. So if you agree to pay extra curricular expenses in addition to regular child support you would be paying more child support than the law requires.

In practice how this usually works out is that child support is set and the amount of child support set incorporates within it health care expenses, work or education related child care expenses all which are required by statue. However, then the parties start talking about how to divide up the extra curricular expenses for the children. But what the parties and their attorney’s don’t tell you or simply don’t know is that there’s no requirement under the law for the paying party to pay for extra curricular expenses.

Double Paying

In fact, agreeing to pay for your children’s extracurricular expenses is double paying. This is because the amount of child support that you’re already paying that is calculated on the child support worksheets already includes an allowance for the usual and ordinary expense of extracurricular activities. So your child support amount already includes the money that anticipates what these extracurricular expenses will cost for your children. So agreeing to paying for them in addition to child support is double paying. It’s only if the children have an extraordinary amount of extracurricular expenses.

Let’s say you have a tennis player at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Camp or some ski camp or something that any amount of extra curricular expenses should even be considered when determining child support. Now the parties are always free to pay whatever they want, pay more than the law requires and if you can do so, if you agree to. But do so with full knowledge that you are being very nice and that you are not legally require to do so.

Minimum Child Support Payments

Parties are free to always pay more child support than the law requires but if you agree to do so just do so with full knowledge. That if you are the paying party you do not have to pay for the children’s extra curricular expenses. If you wish to do so that’s a nice thing to do. But it’s not required. So don’t agree to do it in a settlement agreement and don’t allow a court to mistakenly incorporate it in a court order. This is a mistake that is all too often made and once made it is difficult to unmake this mistake. I am Scott Shaw and if you have any questions I welcome your telephone calls and inquires. Thank you.

By: Scott Shaw