What should custodial parent provide with child support funds?

My 15 year-old grandson is asking questions about his father's child support payments, ie., what is the child support money actually for? why did mom (my daughter) buy new furniture and not the track shoes he needed for school? why did she buy a new car when the phone was shut off? When he and his brother need anything they are being told to ask their father for the money. Their father faithfully pays $900 a month. Their mother works a good job also. There is a third child whose father pays nothing and he wants to know why his dad has to pay and his sister's doesn't. I don't want to be put in the middle, but he is old enough to ask these very legitimate questions and has drawn some very mature conclusions. I thought it would be in his best interest to give him the information he asked for, what should my child support be paying for, and let him draw his own conclusions from there.

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Submitted 226 days ago...

kbky11

Brain (4,978)

There is nothing in law that says that the mom has to do a special or any thing with the money , its only to be paid to the receiver, and they can spend it for what they think is for the good of the child , and court will not watch evey penny thats being spent , to see what it goes for it would be impossible, as long as its paid thats all the court is intrested in , hope this helps

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Answer 2 / 2

Submitted 226 days ago...

tmboring

Authority (218)

Child support is suppose to be used for the daily needs and care of the child, ie: their share of housing, food, utilities, clothes, etc... But what a person really uses it for is up to the person who gets the money. I have seen children go without new clothes, socks, shoes, so their parents could go out drinking and gambling, it's sad but true. I would try to avoid the question as much as possible, but if push comes to shove, you can tell him what I stated above. If dad can prove that the childs needs are not being met, he can petetion the court for custody and may even be able to stop support, if he will commit to meeting the childs needs. I have even seen some people, because of the above issues, pay child support into a trust fund for the child for when he/she turns 21 years old. Hope this helps. Good luck to you!

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Submitted 226 days ago...

Punctum898

New User (2)

Thanks. I just want to be able to express what "daily needs and care" of the children entails if he continues to press me for answers. We live in a small town and our expenses aren't those of bigger cities. By my calculations, considering my own household expenses, the child support pays for all of the utilities and half of their groceries each month. Their Dad also pays $135 a month seperately for their cable/internet (he does not have cable or a computer himself) so that the kids can have internet access for the computer that he bought them. He also provides health, dental and prescription coverage. I just don't want the boys to think that their father is a deadbeat and that they are "poor" just because Mom says so, because they are not. Children should respect their mother AND their father and NOT be put in a position to challenge finances. Is it me, or am I the only one who feels that these issues should not be discussed with children especially with the intention of using the information against the other parent????? Whatever happened to keeping our children emotionally stable, too?

By the way, the State SHOULD have at least some regulations in place for where the support money is to go.

Thanks again for your help.

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