What child support is intended to cover is important for parents both paying and receiving child support to understand. In addition, parents should understand what it is not intended to cover and ensure they have all their child support questions answered.

Although child support is intended to pay for essentials, such as food, clothing and shelter, it is also intended to pay for a broader range of expenses and needs of the child. In addition to basic necessities, child support payments are intended to cover: medical care; education fees; childcare; transportation and travel costs; extracurricular activities; entertainment; and college expenses.

In terms of medical expenses, if one of the parents has employee-sponsored healthcare coverage, that parent will usually be required to carry health insurance for the child. Parents are generally required to have healthcare insurance for their children. Child support can help with extraordinary healthcare costs that are not covered by health insurance. Healthcare costs not covered by medical insurance can include co-pays, deductibles, some surgery costs, braces and eyeglasses, among others. Education costs can include school-related expenses, even if the cost of education is free.

Child support is typically based on the income of the parents, the financial needs of the child and the amount of child support needed to maintain the child’s standard of living, when possible. Child support can be a heated issue for parents in general and during a divorce, which is why parents should understand what child support is intended to cover and how it is determined to ensure that the needs of the child are properly met.