If you are paying child support, you aren’t the custodial parent, but you have the right to see and spending time with your kids. If you just started paying for child support, you must be asking, if I pay child support do I have to pay for anything else, right?

You are not alone. Many parents have the notion that child support is a one-way street. Once they send money to the receiving parent, the receiving parent should be responsible and spend the money to support their children.

The amount is only a fraction.

While the amount you are asked to pay for child support is a set amount, the calculations used to arrive at the number are usually simply estimates. The court assumes the amount of money the child will need to maintain the same living standard while they have both parents.

This means that the amount you pay might be too much or too little for your kids.

You are still responsible for support.

In most cases, the amount you pay is what the children need when they are with the receiving parent. According to family lawyers, when you pick the kids to spend time with, you still need to provide for them.

This means that you still need to pay for their food and clothing while they are with you. The court recommends that the kids shouldn’t pack anything when they are moving from one parent to the other.

The reason for this is to make them feel they belong.

As you can tell, when you pack your clothes, shoes, toothbrushes, and other necessities, you feel like you are visiting and you don’t belong in the new place. It’s a different feeling when the kid’s visit and they don’t carry anything as everything they need is in both houses.

Therefore, besides paying child support, you still need to buy everything the child needs to be comfortable in your home.

Keep a journal

As much as you should provide when you are with your child, you should be cautious and track every amount you spend during your parenting time.

This way, you can tell whether the receiving parent is spending the amount you send them responsibly.

For example, if you have to keep spending money on everyday items such as toothpaste, it might be a sign that the receiving parent isn’t spending the amount you send responsibly.

The best way to go about it is to keep a journal of the entire amount your child asks for. When you buy the items, keep the receipts and request a reimbursement for the amount if you feel it reasonable.

You might be wondering when is the reasonable time to request a refund, right? You should do it if you have already sent the money for the item, but the receiving parent didn’t purchase it.

For example, if you sent an amount meant for a football uniform, but the kid still asks for it when you meet, it’s a sign that they spent the money on the wrong items, so you need a reimbursement.

Talk to your attorney.

If you feel your child support amount isn’t being spent responsibly, you should request a meeting with your child support lawyers Fairfax VA and explain your predicament.

As you head to the meeting, bring your original divorce decree showing the factors the court used to determine the amount of support to pay.

If you feel the receiving parent isn’t spending the amount wisely, investigate it with your attorneys and motion your court for contempt against the parent for diverting the contributed amount.