Are camp & after-school activities part of child support?

With the summer winding down, it’s time to think about the upcoming school year and, gulp, maybe even camp. Do your children attend camp and/or participate in after-school activities? Do those activities cost money? If so, you may be asking, who pays for those expenses if the parents are separated? Are they part of the basic child support order?

In addition to determining basic support, the court can also allocate additional support expenses.  Examples of those additional expenses are childcare costs, health insurance premiums, unreimbursed medical expenses, summer camp expenses, private school expenses, and after-school activities. With all of these expenses, remember to provide your attorney (or the court if you are representing yourself) evidence of the actual costs. The court wants to see documentation of the actual expenses before they are going to order your coparent to chip in. You also want to show that the proposed cost is reasonable given your and your coparent’s incomes.

Summer Camp Expenses

The court will allocate summer camp expenses if there is a need for the expense and the expense is reasonable given the parent’s circumstances (both financial and otherwise).  Generally, the division of the cost will be proportional to the parties’ respective incomes. 

There are a few ways to share this expense. If the total expense for camp is already known, then it can be included in the support order as part of the monthly support obligation. Or, the court can order the payor to pay his/her portion of the expense directly to the camp or the other parent when the expense is incurred. 

Although a camp expense is generally only incurred in the summer, the court will generally divide the total amount over a twelve-month period so that the monthly support order remains consistent.  What if the expense is not included in the monthly support order? Then, the party incurring the expense must provide documentation of the actual expense and request reimbursement from the other parent. 

What if you and your coparent disagree about summer camp?

The biggest fight that I see about camp expenses is the cost. For example, one parent may want to send their children to an expensive sleep away camp, while the other parent may prefer (and only be willing to pay for) the local YMCA day camp. You may be asking, what happens in this scenario?

This is both a legal custody and a child support issue. If the parties disagree on which camp to send their children to for reasons other than the cost, then they will have to resolve this dispute in custody court. In general, the court will look at whether the objection against the camp is reasonable.

If the issue is only about the cost, then the court will look at whether the cost is appropriate given the parties’ finances. For example, is the cost of the overnight camp almost half of what the parties collectively earn in a year? If so, the court is not going to order that the parties share in that expense. In the alternative, if the parties have the money and have sent their children to the overnight camp for many years, the court is going to find the cost reasonable and order it to be shared.

Expenses for After-School Activities

As you know, many children are involved in regular after-school activities which come with a cost. In determining whether to divide these expenses, the court will again look at whether these activities are consistent with the family’s collective standard of living and station in life.  If the court finds these expenses reasonable then the cost will likely be allocated commensurate with their incomes.

Examples of after-school activities include, equestrian activities, music lessons, dance lessons, community sports leagues, travel sports, boy/girl scouts, after-school clubs and racquet/swim club memberships. Really, anything that your child regularly participates in that is outside of school. It does not include vacations, trips to amusement parks, movie tickets, or video games.  

What are considered expenses for after-school activities?

So, now that we know what an after-school activity is, what are expenses for after-school activities? Well, this is where it gets a little murkier. Clearly, registration fees, tournament fees, lesson fees and membership dues are an after-school expense. In addition, any equipment or uniforms needed are also included.

…. and what is not (well, maybe)

However, other costs such as, transporting the child to the activity, meals out, snacks for the team, and hotel rooms for weekend tournaments are grey areas. If you are looking for your coparent to contribute to those expenses for these after-school activities, you need to show both: (1) how they are benefiting the child directly; and (2) that they were required in order for the child to participate in the activity.

If possible, discuss these types of costs and how you are going to handle them with your coparent first before incurring the expense. Also, be reasonable. Your coparent is not going to contribute to the cost of chips from the snack bar during your child’s swim meet. Don’t ask.

Similar to camp, the cost can be included in the monthly support order. It can also paid outside the court system via paying the provider directly or reimbursing the paying parent. I generally see expenses for after-school activities paid outside the court system as they fluctuate more than summer camp costs.

Don’t miss these practical tips about expenses for camp and after-school activities!!

So what should you do if you really want your children to attend a specific camp or participate in an after-school activity but your spouse is objecting? One option is to offer a different split of payment other than 50/50 or a percentage consistent with your incomes. Another option is to offer to pay for one activity while he or she pays for another, less expensive one. While you may not be ordered to pay that larger share if you were to win in court, you have to consider the legal fees you are going to spend to get your coparent to contribute. Don’t throw good money after bad.

What if you don’t agree with the activity or camp selection? Remember, your reasoning has to be reasonable. I know, there’s that word again. But in all seriousness, this is the court’s standard. If you don’t have a good reason, the objection is not going to be successful. It may be better to save your disagreement (and legal fees) for another support or custody issue.

And remember . . . .

Don’t forget that in child issues, there are going to be times that you will need your coparent to agree to something that you want. Perhaps banking some goodwill with him or her is worth the cost of the after-school activities or camp. Above all, remember that reasonableness is the name of the game when it comes to saving money and your sanity during the divorce process.

Have you had to fight with your coparent about camp or after-school activities? How did it go? Let me know if the comments below!