Does Child Support Cover Your Kid’s Extracurricular Activities?

Raising a child is expensive. Even when you use secondhand kids’ items, choose hand-me-down clothes, and use other resources available to you, raising a child to adulthood costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. When you add in extracurricular activities, the bill gets even higher. This raises the question: how are extracurricular activities handled when it comes to child support?

Learn more about what state law says and how you can plan ahead for your child’s extracurricular activities. To learn more about your options, call Pence Law Firm at 304-345-7250.

What Child Support Covers

Child support in West Virginia covers a wide enrage of expenses. At its core, it covers the basic expenses associated with raising a child—housing them, feeding them, and ensuring that their basic medical needs are met. It also covers the expenses that routinely come up for parents, such as clothing, school supplies, and hygiene items. However, beyond the basic child support obligation, there are other expenses that child support may cover. 

For example, if a child has extraordinary medical needs, a child support order may include additional money for those expenses. This is common for children with serious diagnoses or disabilities. Child support may also include money for daycare and other types of childcare that are required for the parents to work.

Calculating Child Support in West Virginia

There are a few different ways to calculate child support, and each state has the right to set its own calculations and procedures. West Virginia starts with the assumption that both parents are responsible for meeting their child’s financial needs. They calculate child support based on the idea that both parents pay child support in a way that accounts for their custodial role and the amount of income they bring in. 

Let’s assume that the court looks at both parents’ income and determines that $600 is owed in child support. In this case, the parents have a traditional custody split where one parent has custody and the other has visitation. The parents’ combined monthly income is $2,000. The custodial parent brings in $500 per month or 25% of the joint income, so they pay 25% of that—$150. The non-custodial parent brings in $1,500 and is responsible for 75%, or $450. If you take 600 and subtract the custodial parent’s contribution, they will receive $450 from the non-custodial parent.

There are obviously cases that aren’t quite so cut-and-dry. For example, if the parenting time is closer to an equal split, the formula may be adjusted accordingly. The calculation may also be different if there are drastic income disparities or unusual circumstances.

Your Child’s Extracurricular Activities

What, then, does the law say about extracurricular activities? Extracurricular activities are not automatically accounted for in child support, but they also aren’t automatically split between the parents. That’s why it’s important to work with an attorney while drafting a parenting plan and divorce order. 

Even if your children are young now, they will have extracurricular expenses in the future—and if you don’t include a clause in your divorce order about paying for those extracurricular activities, the parent who signs them up will likely be left footing the bill. This can be difficult when one parent is passionate about their child pursuing their interests and the other simply wants to limit their financial losses. It’s especially important to address this matter if your children are already old enough to start extracurricular activities, as you know then just how expensive they can be. Your children shouldn’t be left having to skip out on activities they love because of a dispute between parents.

What to Do When Your Child Starts Extracurricular Activities

Keeping the lines of communication open is crucial. When your child starts getting interested in non-school activities, make sure you can help them explore their passions. Many parents can work together to come to an agreement regarding extracurricular scheduling and financial coverage. When you reach an impasse, it may be time to reach back out to your divorce attorney and figure out what your options are.

Discuss Your Case with Pence Law Firm

The team at Pence Law Firm is here to help you create or modify a child support order that meets your child’s needs. Find out how we can help now—just call us at 304-345-7250 or contact us online.