Do It For The Kids: Understanding Child Support

Everyone knows that divorce is hard. And it only gets harder when there are kids involved. For numerous decades, countless parents have separated, leaving their children to deal with the consequences of the fallout. From visitation rights to two of every holiday, children of divorced parents often come out the other end with a few emotional scars and wounds. The worst consequence of this separation of parents has to the distribution of child support. 

Whenever a pair of parents file for divorce, one will gain full custody of the children while the other will have partial custody. Due to the amount of time the children will spend with the parent with full custody, the parent with partial custody will have to pay monthly payments that ensure the children’s financial security and well-being. This is a common practice that most divorced parents partake in for the sake of their children.

Back To The Basics: Knowing What Child Support Is

Child support can be convoluted and a difficult-to-understand process, but once it’s broken down into basic parts, it’s pretty simple. As we said earlier, child support is the act of one parent paying the other for the well-being of the children they share. This could be either parent, but studies have shown that mostly men and fathers pay child support. There are also some cases where neither parent ends up being the children’s primary guardian. Even in this case, the parent who has been ordered to pay child support would have to pay whoever is their children’s new guardian. 

Unfortunately, there are numerous cases where parents refuse or decline to pay child support. These cases usually result in a legal battle, but it can take months, sometimes even years, to straighten out this conflict and reach a peaceful resolution that works for all parties.

Step One, Then Step Two: The Process Of Child Support

The process of providing child support is a very long and intricate one. Of course, the process begins with a divorce hearing and ends with the first of many payments from one parent to the other. But what about everything in between? What happens then? Well, the answer isn’t as simple as you would think. 

Most of the time, whenever a parent isn’t paying child support or supporting their children, a court will open a case, thus forcing the parent into a hearing. It’s important to note that these are just the basics of the child support process. There are a multitude of moving parts that come with child support, and it’s important to find the guidance and knowledge of a lawyer or counselor.

The Question Of It All: Why Child Support?

Child support sets out to accomplish a variety of goals. From reducing poverty to providing for the next generation, child support is immensely beneficial when it comes to mending and helping our society. One proven benefit of child support is its impact on public welfare. With child support, families are less likely to sign up for public welfare outlets such as food stamps and unemployment. This results in a higher budget for a country’s public welfare.