For many single North Carolina parents, the cost of a child’s extracurricular activities can be an expense that may be difficult to cover. However, some judges do allow a certain amount of child support to be used for the child’s activities, especially if the child was already involved in the activity before the divorce occurred.
For kids who are in competitive sports, there may be private coaching lessons, practices and equipment that must be paid for. The costs can come out of a portion of the child support payments that are earmarked for “entertainment.” The earmarked child support is expected to assist with covering the costs of the activity in addition to other entertainment such as going to see a movie or places a child may go with friends.
If the child is in an accelerated activity or sport and has potential to aim for higher levels of competition, language in the child support guidelines may allow some money to be allotted to support children who are gifted. If the judge believes that pursuing the sport or activity is in the best interests of the child, some additional money may be allotted to help cover the more expensive costs of higher-level training.
When two parents get a divorce, the noncustodial parent may be required to pay a certain amount in child support to the custodial parent every month. This payment helps cover the costs of raising the child and may include money for school expenses, medical care and even entertainment. An attorney may assist with ensuring that a certain amount of the child support payment goes towards the child’s activity or sport. If the noncustodial parent has a change in their financial circumstances, the attorney may assist with having the child support modified to reflect it.