When parents negotiate over child support payments, one issue that can cause a snag is figuring out how to share expenses involving a child’s extracurricular activities above and beyond typical education-related costs, including sports participation and private music lessons. What can sometimes happen is that one parent is more enthusiastic in encouraging the child to take part in a wide variety of different activities, or the parent wants to help the child reach a high level of mastery in a certain art or sport by signing up for private lessons and/or buying special equipment. The other parent, however, may love their child and want to see them take part in activities they enjoy, but at the same time, doesn’t share the same view on the level or type of extracurricular participation, and therefore does not want these additional costs added to child support.

How do the courts settle these kinds of differences between parents? Read more