Should Child Support Money Be Accountable?

Question

Should the recipient of child support money provide the other parent with receipts or even a general accounting (not a "to the penny" accounting), including what was spent from their own resources?

Keep in mind that most states mandate each party have access to the other's income information, so privacy is not an argument.

For the record, I don't pay child support. I have but my children are all grown.

KA, ablockgurl and Wendy:
You need milk. You send a child to the corner market for a gallon of name-brand milk, a loaf of bread and gave them a $20 bill, would it be acceptable that they returned with a quart of generic milk and day-old bread but no change? After all, you got the basics you wanted, it just wasn't the quantity or quality you paid for. See the difference?

dracorium:
Will the IRS accept this excuse?

Tex S:
The ones ordered to pay child support (payors) are already held accountable with punishments up to and including jail time for failing to do so.

georgebonbon:
My guess is he actually believed child support had something to do with support of children. It doesn't.

KA, goods and services are not "child support". Even supporting a child is not considered as "child support". The only thing that the courts will accept is $, so while your idea is good the law interferes.

I'm pleasantly surprised at some of the more level-headed answers from some of the feminists.
I'm thinking I will let this go to a vote instead of picking one. There are many good ones.

Answer 1

Absolutely 100% without a shadow of a doubt yes. It doesn't matter how tedious or time consuming this will be. For that matter taxes are time consuming but we must all do them. As the first poster here said the operative words are "child support" not "wife and child support" or "child support only when the mother deems fit to spend the money on the child". I take this to mean (though I am no legal scholar) that the money is to be spent on the child's needs. Accountability for spending, especially in cases like this, are necessary to make sure that the money goes to where it is supposed to go and not to something the mother doesn't need to take care of the child.

A friend of mine who is divorced now is paying child support to his ex-wife. He had been sending about $300 a month I think in child support to his wife so that his son could go to school, eat, be healthy, etc. One month his ex started asking for more money and he asked why. She bluntly told him that she had to "improve herself" so that she and his son could live more independently. What she meant by this she also stated explicitly. She meant that she had to have cosmetic surgery so that she could remarry. Now of course this is just a personal anecdote and nobody can prove that it didn't happen, but this is still possible if nobody is held accountable for how they spend 'child support'. Some on here might say, well that is just one bad apple out many good ones. Even so, a person who steals is also a statistical minority yet we have laws to punish them for wrongdoing. The same goes for child support abusers. Whoever cares for the child, be they man or woman, should be made to account for where all the money is spent.

Answer 2

Absolutely not. States have child support guidelines. These guidelines are designed to approximate how much benefit the child would receive from the obligor’s paycheck. How is the custodial parent supposed to document this? Here is the grocery bill, your child didn’t eat any of the carrots but drank 60% of the milk? Do we have separate power and water meters on the child’s room?

Most of the expenses that child support goes to pay end up being household expenses (groceries, power, etc.). It is not realistic to expect a custodial parent to separately account for all the cost of living increases that are brought on by the child.

If the obligor has a problem with how they think the money is being spent, let them petition the court and see what the judge has to say. To mandate such an accounting serves absolutely no legitimate purpose.

Oh, despite what some people seem to think, the majority of custodial parents are not receiving a small fortune every month in child support.

Answer 3

I agree with KA. If the child has adequate clothing, food, and other necessities, obviously the money is being spent as it should.
I do think, however, that if there is evidence that the above is NOT happening, that there should be some recourse.

EDIT-I do see your point. The problem is that, too often, after a divorce, the parents stop functioning as a parental unit. I understand that they are no longer a couple, but they are still parents, so they should be discussing (and trying to agree on) how the money is to be spent. However, I understand that is unlikely in a lot of cases.
I think that the major problem (I have) with this proposal is that it assumes that women won't do right by their children.
The other part of problem is that some women do misuse the money.
So perhaps it is reasonable to have child support accounted for, but only because many divorced couples can't seem to be reasonable and discuss the needs of the child as parents should.
It's really a shame.

Answer 4

Absolutley. There should be a system to track what that money is being spent on and to ensure it is being spent on the child. This is another reason that the family law system needs reformed.
I think that it should be like some kind of Visa card and where the court can track the purchases that are made on it. Maybe some kind of allocation for rent that would cover the childs living and seperate money for food for the child.
There is no reason that people paying child support should pay for the other parents things and it needs to be enforced, especially if the amount of child support is going to remain outrageously high.
Edit: For the answerer above me: If both parties share custody that would cut out almost every argument you just mentioned, if both parents are fit. Another reason family law reform is essential.

Answer 5

Yes. The money is to help provide the children with what they need and should not be spent elsewhere.

In MI, the court can order the recipient of support to provide receipts to the court proving the support money was properly spent. The receipts are to be turned in monthly and the recipient of support can be held accountable for any amount that was not spent on the shelter, feeding and general care of the child(ren). The court usually only orders receipt turn in if there is evidence that the recipient of support was mishandling support funds and at the request of the provider of support.

Too many women and men have let their children do without while spending support money on cosmetics, clothing, social activities etc.

I wouldn't blame my ex husband if he asked for receipts. Of course, I would be too busy being happy that the deadbeat was actually paying support. At last check, he owed me $19,000.00 in arrears for my two children. I am supposed to recieve $86.00 a week in support, so I would have no problem proving I spend more than that weekly on the care and feeding of two kids.

Answer 6

I absolutely do think it should be accountable to keep everyone honest, and to make sure the child is the only one to benefit from the funds. I know that most mothers use the child support (coupled with most of their own funds) for precisely that...supporting the child but there are exceptions to every rule and there are some mothers out there who are only supporting themselves while their children do without. My uncle has 4 kids by 4 different women (baby mamma drama!!) and he has to pay back child support on all of them, he even pays child support for the one that lives with him so all he is supporting is the mothers handbag & shoe collection!! So yes a rough record or estimate would be good, it will also be good for the mothers as well it will show how much the really good mothers put into their children as well and some of these fathers will get to see where their money is going so it will be a little easier to part with on behalf of their precious offsprings.

Answer 7

Depends on the amount of money.

I receive $50/week for two children. Do I feel I should give information on where that money is spent? No. It is obvious that I spend much more than $50/week on my children. However, I wouldn't have a problem if legally told to do so. In fact, I would be happy to show how little it pays for.

There are some women/men who receive a huge amount of money for child support. This I feel should be documented. There are some parents who do not spend the money on their children.

Another thing to keep in mind - custodial parents can claim part of their rent/utilities, etc as supporting their children.

Answer 8

If the funds contributed for child support are not reflected in the physical well being of the recipient, I believe the parent receiving the funds be required to provide an accounting of how the money was spent. If you suspect that your support money is being spent for other than the welfare of your children, either talk to your lawyer about your suspicions, or the prosecuting attorney of the city or county you reside in. Abuse of child support is not unusual.

Answer 9

Yes, it's all about what is best for the child. The custodian mother or father does not always have this in mind when it comes to child support. While not all of them do it, there are a lot of mothers who squander the CS money, especially when it's in the thousands a month (which is nearly 60% of all cases).

Custodial parents who do the right thing have nothing to worry about, so have no reason to object.

Keep in mind, most single mothers are not responsible. I respect the few who are though.

Answer 10

Not unless you can show to the court that the money is not being spent on the necessities. Is she being evicted from apartment, have the electric turned off, the child is in rags, doesn't get to eat..... Is the child fed, have a roof over her head, go to school, go to the doctor, have clothing, day care, if so you simply won't be allowed to control the mother.