North Carolina parents who have gone through a divorce that involved a child support order might wonder what expenses are covered. Child support often covers basic expenses but little else. If custodial parents want the child to have music lessons or play a sport, they might have to pay for these extracurricular activities on their own.
Another option is to include extras in a parenting plan. Parents may also want to look ahead to the future and things they may want to pay for when their child is near adulthood or is legally an adult. For example, they might want to help with a child’s first vehicle, college education or a wedding.
Academic tutoring, costumes, and various private lessons may all be additional expenses that fall outside the usual scope of child support. Parents should keep all these expenses in mind when they are thinking about their post-divorce budget and accept that in some cases, they might be paying for more of these extras than the other parent.
Parents who are going through a divorce might want to make an effort to keep things amicable because this may make the divorce less difficult on children. In most cases they will need to deal with these issues until their children are at least 18, so if they can also negotiate the terms of their divorce and their parenting agreement with the assistance of their respective attorneys, this may be a good foundation for their co-parenting relationship. Furthermore, if parents come to an agreement instead of a judge, it might be one that better serves the needs of individual family members.