Getting a divorce may have been what was best for your family. You and your ex-spouse may simply have not gotten along well any longer or generally felt that ending the relationship was in everyone’s best interests. Still, you knew that the divorce would have effects on your children and your financial situation.
In particular, the court may have ordered you to pay child support. You may have anticipated this outcome because you earn more money than the other parent or because you spend less time with the kids per the custody arrangement. Of course, that does not mean that providing financial support will not have its difficulties.
How can you make providing support easier?
Even if you and your ex ended the relationship on good terms with one another, you may still feel a little irritated by the idea of having to send him or her money each month. However, you know that your children need your support, both financially and in other ways, so you make your payments on time. Making timely payments can help prevent a number of serious issues, including legal action against you if you fall too far behind.
It may also help you to remember that once the money leaves your hands and goes to the other parent, you are no longer in charge of it. You may wish that you could stipulate where your funds go, but really, the receiving parent can decide how using that money may best benefit the children, including using it to pay rent or other bills.
Communication is important
Though you may not feel that your ex should know everything that goes on in your life, changes in your financial circumstances may be worth discussing. If you get a raise at work, your ex could petition the court to increase your support payments. You may not feel that such an action is fair, but if you try to hide this information and your ex later finds out, the court could order you to make back support payments from the time you got your raise.
It can be frustrating to provide child support in some ways because you do not want the other parent to misuse the funds, but you do want to ensure that your children have the financial support they need. If you have concerns about your support agreement, you may want to talk about any issues with a California family law attorney.
