How Do I Manage Future Expenses in My Support Order?

Your current child support order may work to cover the cost of your child’s immediate healthcare, education, and basic needs (i.e., housing, clothing, food, etc). But life circumstances may change, not to mention the inevitability of inflation and other changes in the economic climate, which may not make your order sustainable in the long run. With that being said, please continue reading to learn how to manage future expenses in your current child support order and how one of the experienced Clarksville child support lawyers at Fendley and Birch can help you collect enough funds to give your child a prosperous upbringing.

How might my child’s expenses change or inflate over time?

As your child develops from an infant, to a toddler, then a minor child, to an adolescent, and finally a young adult, their basic wants and needs may change with them. Some of these changes may constitute new basic needs that can and should be met in your current child support order. For example, your child may have recently been diagnosed with an unfortunate, serious health condition that requires an intensive medical treatment plan. This may require additional child support funds to be allocated to cover these new, necessary medical bills.

Also, as your child grows, their interests may evolve. So, for example, your child may have a newfound interest in a sport or activity that is more expensive than what they used to participate in at a younger age. While these extracurriculars may be classified as extraordinary expenses that need not be covered in a standard child support order, the argument can be made that these activities promote your child’s best interest and well-being. And you may believe that you could afford to give them these extraordinary things if only you had the help of their other parent.

How do I manage future expenses in my current child support order?

Now, the Tennessee family court may not factor in future expenses into its child support formula. This is simply because future expenses are deemed unpredictable. So, when the time comes that these future expenses become current wants and needs, you may attempt to reach out to your former spouse, sit down, and negotiate a new child support arrangement. Hopefully, you two agree to cover your child’s developing expenses as closely as possible. If so, you may propose your new arrangement to the court for official approval.

Of course, there is the possibility that your former spouse is unwilling to settle on an arrangement that requires them to spend more on child support per month. In this case, you may be driven to file a post-judgment modification with the court. Here, you must prove that a modified support order is based on a new basic need for your child (i.e., necessary medical, education, and daily needs). Or, with the potential counterargument of it being an extraordinary expense, that this change is necessary to maintain the lifestyle your child grew accustomed to during your marriage.

No matter what specific divorce or family law matter you are currently dealing with, one of the skilled Clarksville child support lawyers at Fendley and Birch is willing and able to step in and facilitate the process. Retain our legal services today.