What can you do if your Child Support Payments are being wasted?
Paying child support is not the easiest thing to do. Even if you’re paying a lot of money, or even just a little bit, the thought of not having your child and having to pay for their support might not sit right with you. You might question yourself and ask “What is that money being used for?”
It’s natural to feel this way. And, you hope for the best because that means your child is being supported correctly. But, if you have suspicions that the money isn’t even being used on your child your hope might be turning into anger.
Paying for child support is just one side of the coin. If you want to account for the child support, here’s what we can tell you.
What Child Support Can and Can’t be used for in Colorado
The purpose of child support under Colorado law is to pay for food, shelter and clothing for the child. It can also be used for paying for activities. But, we’re not talking about 30,000 per year for a soccer or football team.
Child support payments are supposed to be reasonable, even for things like fees for activities. Colorado does not require an annual accounting of where the child support funds are going or how they’re being used, the law just doesn’t require that. However, if you suspect that child support that you’re paying is being used inappropriately, for example, for gambling, then you need to talk it with your ex and we recommend you contact a Family Law attorney, like those at our firm.
An Ex doesn’t need to give you a receipt for child support spending
If you demand an accounting of where the child support money is going, you’re not going to always get one. In fact, it’s pretty rare. You have to have actual evidence. We’re talking about gambling receipts, and also the school reporting that Susie’s arriving in kindergarten hungry. So, you’re going to need something concrete, if you want the court to dig in and do what you’re asking the court to do. Remember, demanding an accounting probably won’t result in that accounting.
But there’s a lot of other things that we can do for you here at the Drake law firm. And we’re happy to help with changing custody or changing the amount of child support or just troubleshooting with you on what to do going forward after your divorce. Give us a call!
