Child Support 101: A Guide for the Freshly Divorced, Pt 2

In Part I, we talked about the standard guidelines for child support. Today, we’re going to talk about what happens when you toss those guidelines out — or when something happens that they don’t cover in the first place
 
Creating Your Own Child Support Agreement
If you and the child’s other parent agree, you can set up your old child support agreement in lieu of following the generic guidelines, but keep in mind that a court must agree that the agreement you create is both

• In the best interests of the child, and
• Fair to each parent in a financial sense.

 
If you do choose to create your own agreement, you will have to put it in writing, have an attorney review it (as will the other parent), and have it signed and notarized. This will create a legal document that you must then abide by or face a consequence handed down by a court of law. In fact, it’s wise to have each of your attorneys sit down and figure out what an agreement that went by the general guidelines would have looked like, and start from there.
 
The more a custom-written agreement varies from what a guideline-based agreement would look like, the more important it is to have both of your lawyers examine it. It’s easy to create an agreement that accidentally violates one or both of your legal rights (and is thus not a valid contract) or ignores a legal obligation one or both of you hold.
 
The more a custom-written agreement varies from the financial aspect of the guidelines, the more important it is to have a financial advisor look them over carefully. The guidelines were written in order to maintain both parents’ ability to financially support themselves (and potentially a life with a new significant other.) If you have a very strong reason to believe that the guidelines won’t apply to your specific financial future, the courts will probably listen — but it’s wise to have a financial advisor back you up on that opinion before you stake your future on it.
 
Expenses that go Above and Beyond
Special expenses beyond those covered by the general child support guidelines must still be reviewed by the court and found to be both reasonable and necessary as covered in Part I. This includes expenses like:

• Child Care: If the custodial parent has a change in financial ability such as a job loss or disability due to illness or injury, or requires further training/education to develop in their career, and child care becomes necessary because of those circumstances, child care expenses can be added to the child care agreement post hoc.
• Healthcare Expenses: Unanticipated needs such as eye exams and glasses, orthodontics, counseling, and prescription medicines are often late additions to a child support agreement.
• Extracurricular Activities: Any expenses incurred for sports, music, arts, and other similar activities isn’t necessarily added to a child support agreement, but could easily be.
• Educational Expenses: If the court agrees that the child’s best interests are served by a private school, tutor, or other similar costly option, a portion of those expenses can become part of a child support agreement.

 
Depending on the state, the court may hear the custodial parent’s request and decide whether or not to add such expenses to the agreement, or they may insist that both parents agree that these expenses are both reasonable and necessary before an addition of this type is made. These expenses can also be decided upon as part of the original child support agreement by forward-thinking parents as well.
 
If you and your ex can’t come to an agreement on what expenses are necessary and reasonable, or you decide that it’s appropriate to have your own unique child support agreement crafted from the ground up, you’ll need a skilled family lawyer on your side. Call Gucciardo Family Law today at 248-723-5190 and talk to us — we can help.