For the most part, by the time you receive your Decree of Divorce in the mail, the battle over your property settlement is over. But when it comes to child support, this is rarely the case. With many couples, the child support battle rages on - sometimes even beyond their children’s emancipation. As a Colorado child support attorney, I am always amazed at how nasty these battles can be; especially when child support is designed to benefit minor children.
One of the more common questions I hear at the Marrison Family Law LLC is, “What is included in child support?” I don’t always like the answer I have to give to this question, especially when I am speaking with a custodial parent. Like many other states, Colorado only includes the most essential costs when calculating child support. The cost of food, shelter, clothing, child care and health insurance are calculated using state averages, based on the number of children in the household and the total income of both parents. While at first these amounts may seem generous, any parent who has tried to raise children without additional support will tell you that it’s not enough.
As a Colorado child support attorney, when I meet with individuals about these matters I usually advise them to negotiate a better settlement that what the state recommends. This is not always possible to do when parents don’t see eye to eye, but when both parents what their children to be educated at an expensive private school, or attend an expensive summer camp, then it is possible to negotiate a settlement that would cover these costs. However, if the parents disagree, the custodial parent may be forced to pay for 100% of these expenses.
If you want a child support agreement that covers the expenses of extracurricular activities, vacation travel, computers, sporting equipment, braces, music lessons, birthday parties and private school, a Colorado child support attorney can help you petition for this in court. A separate agreement will also be necessary if you want to be certain that college costs are divided between both parents.
Contact a Colorado child support attorney from the Marrison Law firm and find out how you can negotiate a better child support agreement.
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