The holidays are a time for giving, and many parents want to make sure their children have the best Christmas possible. With this in mind, parents might opt to use their child support payments to provide gifts for their children. But is that allowed?
Child Support Is Meant to Provide For Your Child's Needs
While you might think that child support payments cannot pay for gifts for your child, there is no requirement for receiving parents to account for what these funds are used for. Child support payments should first be put toward meeting the child's needs before gifts, and other additional items or experiences are purchased for their children.
Parents who receive child support payments are not obligated to create itemized statements regarding how child support is being spent; however, they should use their discretion when spending child support payments and keep their child’s best interests in mind. The court will not block a parent from reasonable expenditures, such as shopping for gifts for their child, extra toys, or paying to put the child into additional extracurricular activities.
Gifts Cannot Be Considered Child Support Payments
In addition, gifts given to your children cannot be considered child support payments. If the paying parent decides to give gifts to the children, they will not go towards their overall monthly payments and instead will solely be considered gifts for the children. While the courts will never order that you give gifts to your children, they can order child support payments for your children’s financial care.
What If Child Support Is Not Covering the Costs of My Child's Needs?
If you find that your child support payments aren't covering the necessary costs for your children, you may have grounds to request a modification. It's important to remember that child support payments are not meant to cover every single expense for your children, but they should be enough to provide for the maintenance of their lifestyle.
If you feel that your current child support agreement is no longer meeting those needs, consider speaking with an attorney to discuss the possibility of a modification. They can help you understand if you would have the grounds for a child support modification and guide you through the process as you seek an increase in monthly payments.
Experienced Family Law Attorneys
When it comes to holiday gifts, it's understandable that you want to give your children a magical holiday season. While child support is intended for your children’s day-to-day expenses, the courts will not halt your child support payments if you purchase your child a holiday gift.
If you have questions about child support payments, modifications, or any other aspect of family law, consider reaching out to an experienced attorney at Friedman & Friedman PLLC, Attorneys at Law. We can provide guidance and support during this often confusing and overwhelming time.
Call us today at (516) 688-0088 to schedule a consultation with a member of our team.