What does Child Support Cover the cost of?

[Amity]

I'm sorry, I can't get involved in this one because I'm going to blow my socks off... All I can say is the system is not always fair.

[Peg]

Divvy, i think in circumstances where the carer doesnt get any CS it is worthwile having a an agreed parenting plan in place which is based on the childs expenses, ie school fees, clothes, excursions, medical, child care etc

of course both parties have to agree and be willing to abide by it, but thats why its called an 'agreement' because its an arrangement that both parents are happy with.

Clover, everything you've stated is exactly what i've also said...the CS can be used wherever the carer needs it to go whether its rent or food or bills...

[knight]

Is there a way to see what your child support goes too? I pay my support every week plus half of the school expenses etc , but i'm still asked for more money to cover other items and i always see my ex with her hair & nails done every week ( with no job ) and those things arnt cheap , i would really like to know where my money is spent on my son as i dont mind paying money for him to live better its just i dont want his money going towards her personal things

[briggsy's girl]

do you show your ex where your money goes?

no one needs to justify how they spend their CS (or their wages, or anything else) - how do you know your ex isn't putting the CS straight into rent and food, and spends her "income" from parenting payment on stuff for herself, what business is it? as long as the children are provided for/not neglected (ie, they have a roof over their head and food in their bellies...). ftb and CS are to help the family unit - parenting payment is essentially HER income (as your wages are yours) - and if she wants to fritter it away paying for a mani, so be it. parents (in all family structures) work damn hard, and sometimes they need to do something to pamper themselves. for you it might be a box of beer on pay day, for her a mani ever six weeks...

if you have an issue, you can speak to child support about turning a PORTION of your liability into a non-cash payment - so goes directly to their schooling or something - but it has to be agreed to by both parties.

[Inanna]

You could ask her Knight? But the fact is the CSA work out how much you are deemed to be responsible for financially & that's what you pay.

Personally I keep a spreadsheet - because I wait in hope for the day that my ex husband wants a run down on my children's costs... I suspect your expartner would be just as eager to let you know where it all goes. Having said that - it's her business and not yours. That money is what is decided by the CSA using their calculations.

It is known that it costs much less being a non residential parent than it did when you all lived unhappily together! Why? Not sure about that - I guess to facilitate your right to be able to create another family down the track.

Being a single Mother doesn't mean we walk around looking scraggy. Personally I haven't looked better! Not because I spend hours at the nail bar each week - but because I feel better about myself and this shows on the outside.

What I think is that you wish her well, know she is your child's mother and loves him with every fibre of her being and that together you created him. Sending her off in love is far more beneficial to everyone than getting antsy over where every cent is spent...

[~clover~]

BG & Inanna, couldn't agree more.

Sorry Knight, but she has every right to get her nails done. I can guarantee you that the amount of money she puts into rent/food/phone/electricity/clothes/shoes etc is a much bigger percentage of her income than your child support is of your's.

Its cheaper & easier if you have friends who know what they're doing as well, & they can do your hair & nails etc.

[knight]

Im not saying she cant enjoy life but what i am saying is i think it would be good to know how my sons money is spent on him as this money is not hers its for my son she dosnt need or would i even expect to know where her personal money goes , as we both have him for the same amount of time and its hard to understand where the money is spent ( i pay alot of money each week to him not just pocket change ) yet still am always asked for more ( which i give as i hope its in my sons best interest ) , i find it hard to understand as my new partener only gets about $10 a week to raise the same age child going through the same situation ( schooling , rent ,food , etc ) , just trying to understand how things work

Just for the record i have no problem paying what ever money to raise my child , i think its fair to know where the money goes as alot of people seem to miss understand that this money is not for the "other" parent to boost there income its for the welfare of the child as raising a child is a joint effort

[~clover~]

Then your new partner would be getting more from the government for her child & her ex partner would be on a lesser wage. Or the dole.
The more you pay your ex, the more the government takes out of her family payments, which is given to her for BOTH of them to live on. So the less she gets from the government, the more of the child support she's going to have to use to live on.


ETA - its up to you if you give your partner any extra, & mostly shows the type of father you are IMO. There are alot of men who don't even bother to pay what they have too..

[misty]

Im not saying she cant enjoy life but what i am saying is i think it would be good to know how my sons money is spent on him as this money is not hers its for my son she dosnt need or would i even expect to know where her personal money goes , as we both have him for the same amount of time and its hard to understand where the money is spent ( i pay alot of money each week to him not just pocket change ) yet still am always asked for more ( which i give as i hope its in my sons best interest ) , i find it hard to understand as my new partener only gets about $10 a week to raise the same age child going through the same situation ( schooling , rent ,food , etc ) , just trying to understand how things work

Just for the record i have no problem paying what ever money to raise my child , i think its fair to know where the money goes as alot of people seem to miss understand that this money is not for the "other" parent to boost there income its for the welfare of the child as raising a child is a joint effort

You child has a roof over their head, food in their tummy, clothes on their back, electricity to run their TV, computer, lights, Gas to heat their oven, fuel to run their car, etc, etc - unless this is being provided to your ex free of charge by someone else: this is where you childsupport is going. And I can garuantee you that is doesn't even cover the smallest portion of it all. Children's living expenses are EXPENSIVE. And that is just the basic stuff, not the extras like sport, excursions, treats, etc.

I am not a single parent. My DH and I have a household income - some of it from him, some of it from me, some of it in the form of FTB. It doesn't matter where the money is coming from, we need to pay the bills first, buy the groceries, fill the car - if there is any left over, then we may spend it on extra's: but we don't stop to sort out which exact dollar was paid to who, by which entity (work, FAO, etc). Because it doesn't matter. It is all the same cash pool.

Just to give you an idea of costs associated with raising a child on a weekly basis:
Nappies and wipes - $20 p/w
Groceries - Approx. $50 per child per week (minimum).
fuel (directly for childrens benefit, cost of running to school, to doctors, to buy groceries for them, etc - I can honestly say the car is for the benefit of the child(ren) at least 60-90% of the time) - $50 p/w
Rent / mortgage (child needs to sleep somewhere) - depends on where they live; but without kids I can garuantee you they could live somewhere smaller and thus cheaper.
clothing (kids grow fast) - about $500 (minimum) per annum; approx 10p/w - If they attend school you can easily add another $300p/a for school uniforms and school shoes, or more.
Electricity, gas, water rates - kids use and benefit from all these things.

Children are not cheap, and childsupport barely even begins to sctrach the surface of what they cost just to raise at the barest minimum standard.

[mmalek]

Im not saying she cant enjoy life but what i am saying is i think it would be good to know how my sons money is spent on him as this money is not hers its for my son she dosnt need or would i even expect to know where her personal money goes , as we both have him for the same amount of time and its hard to understand where the money is spent ( i pay alot of money each week to him not just pocket change ) yet still am always asked for more ( which i give as i hope its in my sons best interest ) , i find it hard to understand as my new partener only gets about $10 a week to raise the same age child going through the same situation ( schooling , rent ,food , etc ) , just trying to understand how things work

Just for the record i have no problem paying what ever money to raise my child , i think its fair to know where the money goes as alot of people seem to miss understand that this money is not for the "other" parent to boost there income its for the welfare of the child as raising a child is a joint effort

I think that is COMPLETELY fair!
I get $26.00 a week in child support from my ex husband to care for our two daughters 5 days a week. I pay for all activities, school fees, clothes etc. I do not ask my ex husband for more money to cover any of these things because I believe that child support is there for this reason. My partner, on the other hand pays $300 a fortnight to his ex wife when we have his children HALF THE TIME!!!!!!! We pay for half of the ballet fees, swimming fees etc. We even pay an extra amount each week to cover any additional things like dental etc.

DOES CHILD SUPPORT NOT COVER THESE THINGS???????

If you want to know where your money is going, I think you have every right to do so.