Child Support- is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child. Child maintenance is paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children of a relationship that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed. Often the obligor is a non-custodial parent. The obligee is typically a custodial parent, parent, a caregiver, a guardian, or the state.
Typically one has the same duty to pay child support irrespective of sex, so a mother is required to pay support to a father just as a father must pay a mother. In some jurisdictions where there is joint custody, the child is considered to have two custodial parents and no non-custodial parents, and a custodial parent with a higher income (obligor) may be required to pay the other custodial parent (obligee). Do you think Child support is/is not enough! Why?
Is “Child Support” enough? Payment from non-custodial parent to the custodial parent in my opinion is NOT enough? Why? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been tracking the cost of raising a child since 1960 and this analysis examines expenses by age of child, household income, budgetary component, and region of the country.
Based on the most recent data from the Consumer Expenditures Survey, in 2015, a family will spend approximately $12,980 annually per child in a middle-income ($59,200-$107,400), two-child, married-couple family. Middle-income, married-couple parents of a child born in 2015 may expect to spend $233,610 ($284,570 if projected inflation costs are factored in*) for food, shelter, and other necessities to raise a child through age 17. So, hypothetically, if you are paying $500 a month for one child….this equates to 6K a year…by age 18 the grand total is 108,000 for one child. According to USDA it’s not enough!