If a Minnesota court ordered you to pay child support, you may wonder, like many other payees, what, exactly, child support covers. You may also assume that child support only covers the essentials such as food, clothing and shelter. Unfortunately, you would assume wrong.
According to FindLaw, child support covers a wide range of expenses. Those expenses fall into two main categories: basic expenses and additional considerations.
Basic expenses include those expenses you might expect child support to cover. For instance, you have your food, shelter and clothing, which all children need to live in comfort. You also have your medical care, which consists of health insurance and uninsured medical expenses, educational fees such as tuition and supplies and childcare. These are all expenses most parents expect child support to cover.
Minnesota courts design child support to cover expenses beyond the basic costs, however. For instance, children need to get from one place to another safely, which is why the courts calculate the costs of transportation into monthly support amounts. Transportation costs include gas, car payments, maintenance and insurance.
Courts also take into consideration the costs of entertainment, to which every child has a basic right. Entertainment costs may include one-time expenses such as amusement park tickets and camping trips or ongoing expenses such as television programs and game subscriptions.
Child support should also cover the costs of extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities are those that fall outside of regular school hours such as sports activities, summer camps, clubs and other non-school related happenings.
This content is for educational purposes only. It should not be used as legal advice.