One of the most complicated things in a divorce is determining child custody arrangements. Losing your child’s custody and control over their life and well-being can be devastating. Child support payments are used for your child’s basic needs, such as shelter, clothes, education, food, etc.
However, some parents start using the money for child support for fulfilling their own desires. For example, you may find your ex with a new phone right after paying them child support. Such situations can infuriate even the most easy-going people. If your child support payments are not used for your child’s well-being, you must work with a Salt Lake City divorce help law firm.
Is child support only meant to be spent on children?
Many people often assume that child support payments are only supposed to be spent for buying things that benefit the child and that it is illegal to spend it on any other things. However, it is noteworthy that the law does not state how these payments are supposed to be spent. The usage of child support funds is not clarified in the legal documents.
Do you have any control over how the payments should be spent?
Generally speaking, no. The parent who has custody of your child is not under any legal obligation to provide proof of how they spend child support payments. Not only that, but they also do not have to spend it on their child necessarily. Therefore, the parent is free to use the money for rent, groceries, healthcare, and other expenses. Your child will benefit from all these expenses, so you cannot point any fingers.
What to do if my child’s needs are being neglected?
As we have stated before, the court or the law system does not specify how a custodial parent should spend child support, nor does it require the parent to provide a list of evidence of their expenses. The parent is free to spend it on anything beneficial for the child.
However, if your child’s needs are not being met despite sending a reasonable amount of child support every month, it is a sign of concern. If you believe your child’s needs are neglected, talk to your child and gather evidence. Listening to and documenting everything your child says is an integral part of the investigation.
After you have gathered enough evidence, you can file a petition in court and file for modification.
Gathering evidence in such cases can be a real challenge. Sometimes children are too scared to speak up and may give false testimonies in court, which can harm your case. To make sure you catch your ex-spouse mischiefs and successfully prove them in court, hire an attorney today.
