Many times my clients will come to me and express their frustrations with the child support system here in Florida. Surprisingly, however, a top complaint that I will get from a parent paying child support is not the amount they must pay, or even that they have to pay at all, but rather their frustration, and sometimes anger, revolves around the ways in which their child support monies are being spent by the other parent. Frustrations as this leads them to wonder about child support accountability and how the money should be spent.
Unfortunately, I have to tell these parents that Florida, along with most other states, does not have any laws or mechanisms in which to enforce ways child support monies are being spent. But is there a trend starting that will bring some child support accountability and more transparency to what a parent can spend that money on?
New Tools Emerging to Prevent Misuse of Child Support Funds
The State of Delaware recently initiated a new system in which the state disperses child support funds through a child support card, which is being compared to a food stamp or an EBT card. The underlying goal behind Delaware’s new system is to prevent parents from misusing funds that are really supposed to help with costs associated with raising children, such as food, clothing, and educational-related expenses. These new cards do not allow the parent to purchase non-essential products that are unrelated to the raising of a child, such as alcohol, cigarettes or even car payments.
Our leaders in Washington are keeping a close eye on how Delaware’s program works out, as there have been rumblings already that Congress could extend a similar program nationwide, making it the universal way to control how parents spend their child support money. The other side of the coin, however, is that sometimes more government intervention (especially on a nation-wide scale) may not necessarily be the answer to these problems, so others would support leaving such abuses of child support payments to the individual states to resolve on their own, which so far, very few states have shown an interest in.
States Are Failing to Enforce Child Support Accountability
As we now know, Florida is included in those states that have done nothing to date on child support accountability, as Florida law does not place restrictions on how child support monies are spent. The philosophy behind this lack of intervention is that child support payments should go into an overall pot of available resources for the receiving parent. This may mean that the child support is used for direct expenditures, such as clothing, food, and daycare, or it may mean that it is used indirectly for the benefit of the child and covers a portion of the rent or mortgage where the child lives.
This means, of course, that there is presently no child support accountability in Florida. If, however, the parent receiving child support is not taking care of the child, then it may be possible for the paying parent to motion the court for a modification of timesharing or parental responsibilities, depending on the specific issues at play. However, Florida remains, for the most part, devoid of any court procedure that would allow a party to question how child support money is being spent. If there were such an oversight mechanism in place, then there could be much less abuse related to the spending of child support money. Unfortunately, for the foreseeable future, that is not the case in Florida, as it is in most states, so a parent receiving child support is free to spend that money in any way that parent sees fit.
Attorney Russell J. Frank is a partner at CPLS, P.A. and focuses his practice areas on family and marital law. Contact Attorney Frank today at [email protected] to discuss any family or marital legal issues you may be experiencing.
As a therapist who works with divorced families , I don’t like this thinking. It hurts more than it helps. Sounds like the writer feeds the thinking that mothers take the money to get their nails and hair done. I actually have heard this specifically from “child support payers” or fathers, while the mother is truly trying to make the money work for the child. It’s more of the unresolved issues of the marriage, and lack of trust playing out in the child support arena. Ultimately, hurting the child/children emotionally.
This looks like a blanket statement which can not and should not be applied to this topic, especially from a therapist who should know that every situation is different. What about those of us who witness their ex go out to expensive restaurants, gambling, car shows, drive cars they can’t afford, and buy high end designer glasses all while the child is not getting the clothes she needs or signed up for any extra curricular activities or sports.
My brother’s ex spends her child support payments partying & buying stuff for her boyfriend.
My son’s mother gives her Child Support payments to her boyfriend, & barely buys what my son needs.
When I pick him up, his clothes are small & old.
So, no not all mothers do right with Child Support payments.
Some of them do, but alot do not.
Being held accountable would be a great thing, & I pray & hope it’s strongly enforced nationwide very soon.
As long as the money is being spent right, then why not?
I mean why put all the pressure on one parent, it took 2 to make a child.
Balance the pressure & the money out for the child.
How bout enforcing more time & visitation.
Just like there are deadbeat fathers, there are also deadbeat mothers, yes there are..trust me.
It’s very simple.
Child support is they only trust relationship where the trustee (the parent receiving the “child support” transfer payment) is not required to prove to the court that the body of the trust (the “child support” transfer payment) is actually being used to provide for the beneficiaries of the trust (the dependent children).
And, unlike other court supervised trust relationships, there are no consequences for trustees (parents receiving the “child support” transfer payment) who misappropriate the body of the trust (the “child support” transfer payment) for their personal benefit.
No, I’m not a lawyer. I’ve just dealt with enough of them that I’m learning how they think.
In other words, I’m actually paying a mixture of child support and hidden alimony in order to provide a government mandated lifestyle for my children, and by inference, my very ex-wife.
If child support were a shared responsibility and not an entitlement, parents would have an inentive to use a child support trust account in the form of a shared checking account (https://www.mediate.com/articles/if_they_can_do_parenting_plans.cfm) that BOTH parents contribute to in order to provide for the children’s needs.
This would also provide transparency and accountability, and avoid either parent being able to misappropriate money that should be used to provide for the children’s needs.
I don’t see the complaint. Many men are actually supporting the mother with the amount they provide. Paying bills and personal spending on herself. If it was limited to what would directly go to the child then many these women would not be able to support themselves without getting abetted job. Right now men are literally paying women to be stable enough to have primary custody. That’s why men who avoid the divorce courts for custody have a better chance because the juvenile courts will look at the finances a mother brings in herself. At least in Virginia they do. It would force these women to push to better support themselves. Child support being used for other expenses incentivizes the mother to not make more so she maximizes the support. If she can’t use the money for living expenses then the safety net is gone. My ex receives 1100 a month. I used to be the primary source of income for the household. She is earning more but not much more. Just to max out money. These card restrictions would put a stop to women being supported.