Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

Question:

I'm looking for financial advice on divorce regarding paying for extracurricular activities.

I'm required to pay half of extracurricular activities by my divorce decree. However, my ex-wife signs our children up for activities without even discussing it with me.

Is there a way that I can put a cap on how many activities that will be allowed and/or a spending limit on those activities?

Question:

I have joint custody of my son. My child's mother always causes my son to miss swimming lessons, scout meetings, basketball practices, etc., during her parenting time.

My son wants to participate in these extracurricular activities. Is this a form of negligence on her part?

By Matt Allen

Editor, DadsDivorce.com

You’ve arrived home from work and as you sort through the day’s mail you see there’s a note from your ex-wife asking for payment for Tommy’s new baseball uniforms and asking you to pick up some new clothes and toiletry items for Susie when she comes to stay with you next weekend.

But wait a minute; you’ve paid your child support this month and on time like you have every other payment.

With all the money you are paying for child support, why are you being asked to provide additional support to cover these other expenses?

It begs the question, what does child support cover?

By Jason Hopper

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell

As summer picks up, so do your kids' activities. Seems like every weekend there are more and more practices, games, and meetings to attend. One problem though: you only get your kids every other weekend and it's your ex-wife who has signed up your kids for these extracurricular activities that severely limit your visitation time. 

Of course you are all for your children being involved in team sports and other organized activities, but are you required to take your children to activities scheduled by your ex-wife during your parenting time? What your rights are in responding to her scheduling activities during your time?

Question: I am finalizing our separation and will use the formula for alimony and child support. My wife is asking that we further split costs of extracurricular activities. I am unsure what, exactly, child support is intended to cover and what it does not cover. Understanding that will allow a clean break, instead of reconciling receipts every month to see who owes what. 

I am glad to make joint decisions on what can be afforded outside of the intended use of child support, but I must rely on guidelines to ensure I am not considering payment on expenses that should be covered by monthly child support. Can you help with this? What does child support cover?