Let’s face it, children are expensive! And, honestly, supporting your child does not end at 18 years old either. When parents end their relationship with each other the Courts must determine how a child will be supported financially. The state has an interest in making sure that a child is not on public assistance when the parents are capable of supporting the child. While you will likely be supporting your child well beyond 18, the state can only order child support until your child has turned 18 and graduated high school.

What bothers most Obligors about child support is that the Court is ordering a parent to give money to the other parent. When a relationship has ended, this may be the last person on earth you trust to take care of your child financially. In fact, often the Obligor believes the Obligee is exceptionally poor at managing money and would rather just buy stuff for the child as it is needed. Because the payment of money is easier for the State to monitor and collect than tracking whether the appropriate stuff was purchased for the child, if the parents are unable to reach an agreement for the support of the child, the court will order child support.

If you are the Obligor it sometimes feels like you are being asked to pay for everything. If you are the Obligee it sometimes feels like it is not enough money to support the child. Child Support is not a perfect system. It is, however, the legislature’s answer to making sure that both parents provide financially for their child, and somewhat effective at keeping many children off of public assistance.