Even when divorcing couples have agreed on child support arrangements, conflicts may arise at every visitation hand-off when parents have to negotiate payments — whether for child support, sports registration, babysitting fees or all the other costs associated with raising a kid. While most parents that take an active role in their children’s lives are happy to offer financial support, they often have concerns about where the money they contribute is going. If it is helping the kids, great. However, if the child-support is enriching the ex-spouse, not so good.
Nearly half of the 55 million parents who live apart go through the state to facilitate child support payments. However, that system does not usually handle the many miscellaneous expenses that are typically shared. SupportPay, a free app to help track expenses for people sharing custody of their children offers a solution. It is a neutral, third-party facilitator through which parents can request,pay, track and document all child support and shared expenses. The benefit of the service is that the request for payments are made immediately after the expense is incurred, and copies of receipts can be shared. Because the process is transparent, mistrust and resentment between parents is reduced.
The free App was developed by Sheri Atwood, a child of divorce who witnessed heated, financial conflict between her parents as a kid and, now, a divorced mother herself, knows first hand how quickly relationships with an ex-spouse can deteriorate when there is contention over child-support. She developed the app with kids in mind, hoping to remove tension between parents. Because she anticipated some resistance from already disgruntled parents, Atwood approached attorneys and judges in her home state of California with the app. As a result, 27 counties have mandated its use because of its effectiveness in resolving problems.
If you have questions regarding child support or other family legal matters, contact the Law Offices of Ronald L. Bell, PC for help today.
Source: Forbes.com, “Will this App Obliterate Child Support Conflict?” by Emma Johnson, accessed June 12, 2015.