Who Pays for Extracurricular Activities and Costs?

Extracurricular activities for minor children can be costly.  Anyone who has had a child in hockey or, fastpitch or other sports will attest to the every  increasing costs of fees and equipment.   They may not be entirely covered by basic child support hat is paid each month. As a result, provisions are often included in divorce decrees where parents agreed to divide extracurricular activities in some way. The portions may be broad or narrow.  They may  include things such as:

• The costs of Sports enrollment;
• Music  Lessons;
• Summer Camps;
• School lunches;
• School bus costs;
• Graduation pictures;
• Graduation Fees;
• Driver's Education;
• Even auto insurance or automobiles. 

The provisions can be as narrow or as broad as the parents chose Often, provisions will indicate that only those costs agreed upon by the parents will be include or that they will include only costs up to a certain dollar amount threshold.

 

The real question is whether a court can order parents to contribute to those expense in addition to child support without agreement.  Some attorneys will tell you the court has no authority to order contribution to those costs.   However, that is not exactly true.  There are a number of unpublished cased (non-precedential cases) that have been decided by the Minnesota Appellate Courts, that consider contribution to extracurricular activities a form of child support and an extraordinary expenses where courts may: (1) Deviate upward from child support guidelines to cover costs; or (2) require parents to contribute to those costs in addition to basic child support.  

 

Child support laws are always changing and you should consult with an experienced family law lawyer regarding your child support issues. 

 

#Child Support, #Extracurricular Activities