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Paying for services directly can limit child support disputes

On Behalf of | Jan 2, 2019 | Child Custody And Support |

Parents often argue about exactly what child support payments should cover. The person getting the payments thinks everything purchased for a child should be covered. Meanwhile, the other person thinks a lot of those things are frivolous, or they simply don’t believe the money is actually going for what their co-parent says it is.

If your goal is to limit disputes and arguments over child support, one way to do it is by paying for things directly rather than paying your co-parent for something or reimbursing them later. This ensures that costs still get covered. These setups are known as hybrid support solutions.

For instance, perhaps your children go to a child care provider when they’re out of school for the summer. Instead of trying to get receipts and work out how much that costs for you and your co-parent, you can just contact the provider directly and pay half of the bill up front — or whatever percentage you’re obligated to pay based on the agreement. There’s no room for argument or suspicion. You avoid potential disputes.

Some people have even done this by putting away retirement funds for their exes and by paying medical care providers in advance. In addition to staving off disputes, this also makes it easier for the person who is paying to get the documentation of those payments, which they want when tracking all of their costs.

If you’re open to innovative new ways to do things, you can make your divorce — and life after the divorce — much easier. Make sure you look into all of the options that you have.

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St. Louis County Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
LEX | The Missouri Bar