Summer brings a change in the family routine. It brings extra time for fun and activities, but may also bring a need for extended child care. For parents with shared custody, the season brings up additional financial questions. Who will pay the additional expenses for extended child care, summer camps, sports, and other extra activities? Parents navigating this issue must know their rights and responsibilities under state law and in their court order.
Child Support and Summer Expenses: Who Covers Sports, Camps, and Activities?
Your obligation towards the summer expenditures often depends in part on the type of custody.
There are generally three types of physical custody: sole, also known as primary, joint, or split.
Sole Physical Custody also known as Primary Physical Custody
If you have sole or primary physical custody, then the child generally lives with one parent but has parenting time at the other parent’s home, such as every other weekend. If you have sole or primary physical custody, then the non-custodial parent is generally ordered to pay more in child support. The idea is that the non-custodial parent’s financial responsibilities for the child are generally included as part of the child support. The custodial parent is then generally responsible for the child’s housing, food, clothing, and day-to-day needs.
While there is some variety in the laws from state to state, the non-custodial parent generally also has additional financial duties in addition to child support. Depending on the state, this could also include a responsibility towards child care costs and for the child’s health and medical needs and expenses, among other possible child-related expenses. In Nebraska, the non-custodial parent is generally ordered to also pay towards child care costs and towards health-related expenses for the minor child in addition to child support. However, in Nebraska, the non-custodial parent generally isn’t ordered to pay towards school or extracurricular expenses in addition to child support. The idea is that the non-custodial parent’s share of these expenses is contemplated as part of the child support itself.
Thus, in summary, in Nebraska, the custodial parent is generally responsible for the costs of the extracurricular activities for the child, including in the summer. The non-custodial parent pays child support and towards a share of the child care costs and the health-related expenses for the minor child. In other jurisdictions, the child care costs are included in the child support and are not an additional obligation.
Joint Physical Custody
On the other hand, in joint physical custody, the parents each have the child about the same amount of time. In this situation, the child support is generally much less (or none if the incomes of the parents are about the same) as the parents are both contributing directly to the child’s support during their own time. Thus, each party is generally providing for the child’s day-to-day needs during their own time and they each have the child about the same amount of time. There is often little to no child support ordered.
However, parents with joint custody are usually ordered to each pay a share of the joint custody expenses, such as towards school-related expenses, agreed-upon extracurricular activities and camps, cell phone costs, etc. There can be some variation as to what are the joint custody expenses as defined in the court order depending on the needs and expenses of the specific child in the case. It is also the norm for the court order to include a sharing of the expenses of the reasonable child care costs and health-related expenses for the child.
Thus, in summary, in Nebraska, joint custody parents generally share responsibility for the costs of the extracurricular activities for the child, including in the summer. They also share in the child care costs and the health-related expenses for the minor child. There is often no child support or a lower amount of child support.
Split Custody
Split custody means that there are at least two children and the children live in separate homes. For example, one child lives primarily with the father and the other child lives primarily with the mother. Split custody orders are somewhat uncommon. Depending on the specific circumstances and physical distances between the parents, you may see the shared expenses in split custody treated more like a sole custody situation or a joint custody situation depending on what makes sense in the specific case. The laws on this also vary from state to state.
Is the Summer Child Care Reasonable?
One summer expense that often gives parents sharing custody grief is the need for additional child care over the summer. When the parents are ordered to pay for a share of the child care costs, the obligation is generally limited to the “reasonable” child care expenses. However, what is reasonable can be disputed.
Age of Child
In some cases, the parents may not agree on what the reasonable age is for the child to stay home alone in the summer. A parent that thinks that the child is old enough to stay home alone may not be willing to pay for the additional child care costs in the summer, especially if the costs are substantial. Some states have a specific age as to what is reasonable for a child to be home alone. In Nebraska, there isn’t a specific age and most court orders do not include a specific age either. In Nebraska, you determine what is reasonable by the specific facts of the case. If the parent is work-from-home, is child care still reasonable? If the child is 11 years old but grandma lives down the block, is the child safe to be left alone? Is an older sibling responsible enough to watch the younger siblings during the day? If the parents can’t reach an agreement, mediation can be helpful in presenting your position and seeing if you can find a compromise. If no agreement is reached, the issue may need to go back before the Court for the Court to decide what is reasonable. If you know this dispute is likely to be an issue in your case, your parenting plan may even include a specific age or some other specifics as to the terms as to what is reasonable child care in your situation.
Is it Child Care?
Especially when one parent has sole custody, there may be the question as to what is child care in the summer. Can camps and activities qualify as child care? This is less often an issue in joint custody cases as joint custody parents often share in the costs of camps and activities whether they are considered child care or extracurricular activities.
Unlike joint custody parents, when one parent has sole custody, the other parent is often not responsible for a share of extracurricular activities but only for a share of child care costs and child support. Thus, it matters in sole custody cases if the camp or activity is considered child care or not.
For example, if the child is old enough to stay home alone, but the parent believes it is best for the child to have more structure and socialization, the parent might sign up the child for a string of camps instead of using traditional child care. Does the non-custodial parent need to pay for a share of these camps in addition to child support in this situation? What if the child isn’t old enough to stay home alone, then does the non-custodial have to pay a share of these camps as they are being used in lieu of child care?
If you know this is likely to be an issue in your case, you may want to include specific terms in your order to help define child care in your specific situation. Mediation can also be helpful to try to resolve these types of disputes before going before the Court. If the Court is called on to make the decision, the Court often looks at the specific factors of the situation. The Court might consider whether the child was old enough to stay home alone. The Court might inquire if the cost of the camps was greater or less than what a traditional child care would have cost? Some cases are more clear cut than others. Most judges are not going to say that a camp for a 17-year-old is child care. On the other hand, if the child is too young to stay home alone and the total costs of the camps is cheaper than traditional child care costs, the Judge might be very willing to order the non-custodial parent to pay a share of these costs as “reasonable child care.”
Extracurricular Activities and Camps
If you have joint custody, you are generally each ordered to pay a share of the extracurricular activities. Camps can also fall under activities. Often the activities have to be agreed upon if they occur during the time of both parents. Often the duty to share in the expense is only if the activity is agreed-upon. Sometimes camps and activities cause additional issues if the camp happens to fall during only one parent’s time. For example, if the parents have week on/week off parenting schedule and the camp is less than a week long, who is responsible for the costs of the camp if it occurs on only one parent’s time? If the specific camp only has availability during the time of one parent, does that parent bear the full cost? Generally, the parents will share in these expenses in this situation, but it depends on the terms of the specific terms of the order and the specific history of the case. While it is impossible to foresee every potential problem in the future, you try to include in the parenting plan specifics how to address an issue if it is likely to come up in a specific case. If the Court is requested to make the call in a situation like this, the Court will again look at the overall factors of the case. For example, did the child historically attend this camp even when the parents were together? Is it an educational camp? Is it a camp tied to an activity favored by just one parent and that other parent generally objects to and only tolerates? These factors can all come into play when deciding each parent’s share of the costs of a disputed activity.
State Laws and Guidelines on Shared Expenditures
Keep in mind that State law varies on these topics. Depending on where your case is located, family courts apply different standards when determining how parents should handle these summer-related costs. In some states, child care is calculated as part of the child support calculation and is not a separate expense owed in addition to child support. (In Nebraska, child care costs are generally owed in addition to child support in most custody situations). Some states focus more on necessary versus discretionary expenditures or trying to determine what is ordinary or extraordinary, among other possible methods of deciding legal parental responsibilities for these types of expenses.
Since child support laws vary significantly by state, it is crucial for parents to check local regulations or consult a family law attorney in their location when determining summer expense obligations. This blog tends to focus on what is relevant for court orders from Nebraska, even though it contains some thoughts and general themes that might apply in most situations.
Negotiating Child Support & Summer Expenses
When you create a parenting plan and custody order it makes sense to think through your specific situation and where you think the problems are most likely to arise. An experienced mediator or attorney will talk with you about your specific situation to help you address issues like those presented in this blog so that you can handle these situations proactively instead of reactively whenever possible. If you have a good co-parenting relationship with the other parent, you may be fine with using more generic terms regarding each parent’s obligations as you can trust the other parent to work with you to some extent to find a reasonable solution. On the other hand, if the other parent tends to make co-parenting as difficult as possible, you may benefit from being more specific and detailed especially in the topics that are most likely to create conflict in the future.
A Better Way Forward – Parenting Plan and Mediation
If you have unresolved disputes regarding the summer-related expenses, it may be time to get a court order and formal parenting plan in place if you don’t already. If both parents are willing to compromise to find a solution, you may be able to resolve your case using an experienced attorney or mediator to help you reach an agreement and draft the formal documents without having to go in front of the judge to decide your case. In fact, attorneys resolve custody cases all the time without going to trial and often without mediation. In fact, only a small percentage of cases go to trial to resolve. Most are resolved through settlement negotiations through the parties or their attorneys with some also using a mediator to help assist them in finding an agreement. In fact, if you and the other parent are mostly on the same page, it may be cheaper and faster to have an attorney draft your order and agreement without the additional expenses of a mediator.
Time for Change – Modification and Enforcement
If you already have an Order and Parenting Plan but it doesn’t address the contested issues, it may be time to file a modification action to change the terms to resolve the conflicts in your situation. If you and the other parent can’t agree on the new terms, you may be required to attempt mediation to see if you two can reach at least a partial agreement before the judge will make a decision on the unresolved issues.
If you believe the terms are clear in the current Order and Parenting Plan but the other parent isn’t following the terms, then you may need to bring an enforcement action. A common action to force the other parent to follow the order is called a show cause/contempt action. It may go by other similar names in other jurisdictions than Nebraska. If you file a show cause/contempt action, the other parent has to “show cause” why the parent is not following the order. If the Court finds that the parent doesn’t have a justifiable reason to violate the order, then the parent can be found “in contempt” and sanctioned for failing to follow the court order. This type of action can be especially helpful when a parent refuses to pay their share of court-ordered costs, such as for reasonable child care in the summer. Depending on the violation of the order, there may be other enforcement options available and better suited for your specific situation.
Financial Planning for Summer Expenditures
You know summer is coming so plan ahead. Proactive financial planning can alleviate the stress of managing summer costs. Talking about costs associated with the summer well before summer starts gives the parents time to think through options and reach an agreement. Having an estimate as to what your share will be way before your share is due makes it more likely that each parent can plan and budget to pay their share of the costs and pay them on time.
Some families establish shared savings accounts designated for summer expenses. If you do this, keep a detailed breakdown of contributions and expenditures to ensure transparency and to prevent confusion over which parent paid which costs. This proactive approach promotes cooperative co-parenting and can minimize financial stress.
On the other hand, some parents include in their court order that each parent is to pay their share of the expense directly to the provider whenever such is allowed. While there may need to be requests for reimbursements if the provider will only accept one payment in full, most providers are willing to accept a separate payment from each parent directly. When each parent is paying their share to the provider directly, it is often very clear whether each parent paid their share of the expense and minimizes disputes as to what is owed by who. It also helps prevent the problem of a parent saying they are not going to pay their share of one expense because they dispute whether the other parent paid their share of a different expense. When you compartmentalize the expense to each being responsible for the payments as they are due, you don’t have the accounting nightmare of “I owe for these things but that is only because you never paid me for X, Y, and Z in the past.”
When disagreements arise, having maintained good records of prior agreements, receipts, and program descriptions can help resolve disputes efficiently. If you generally communicate via text, you may want to follow up or formalize the communication with an e-mail as well. It is easier to archive and keep track of receipts and communications regarding receipts via e-mail than text messages that generally get lost over time. Better yet, consider using a parenting app that has a text message-like feature but also a way to share and archive the exchange of receipts.
See blogs regarding parenting apps:
When Legal Intervention is Needed
In cases where parents cannot reach an agreement, legal intervention may be required. Family law attorneys can assist in:
- Establishing a Custody Order and Parenting Plan
- Interpreting the Terms of an Order or Parenting Plan
- Negotiating a Settlement of a Dispute
- Filing for a Modification
- Working with a Mediator
- Bringing Enforcement Actions
Often the relationship with the attorney starts with doing a consultation to see what your options are and what may be your best course of action.
Wrapping Up
Summer expenses are often owed in additional to child support. Parents must carefully review their court order and parenting plan and have some understanding of their rights and responsibilities under their state’s laws.
To avoid and resolves disputes, parents should consider the following:
- Communicate with the other parent
- Plan ahead for the summer. Identify disputes while there is still time to resolve amicably.
- Establish a court order and thoughtful parenting plan. Define your rights and responsibilities before there is a dispute or to set forth the resolution of the dispute.
- Seek legal guidance to understand and protect your rights and follow through with your responsibilities.
- Attempt mediation if a dispute remains unresolved through negotiations.
- File a modification if your current order or plan is not meeting your child’s needs
- File an enforcement action if the other parent isn’t meeting their responsibilities.
Understanding the nuances of child support and summer expenses can help divorced or separated parents navigate financial obligations smoothly, ensuring their children enjoy enriching summer experiences without unnecessary conflict.
Law Office of Julie Fowler, PC, LLO | Divorce Lawyers Omaha
Child Custody | Child Support | Divorce Lawyers Omaha
If you are looking for an attorney in a child custody, child support case, or divorce case in Omaha, Nebraska, or the surrounding areas (including Papillion, Bellevue, Gretna, Elkhorn, Douglas, and Sarpy), contact our office to set up a consultation.