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Can parents use child support for their personal lifestyle?

It is impossible to overstate how wrong it is to use funds meant solely for child support to cover a parent’s personal luxuries or even their own needs. Child support is specifically for the children of divorce, and no other use of these funds is permitted.

Unfortunately, sometimes a custodial parent will use child support in ways that are prohibited. Perhaps they commingle child support with their own money and hope it balances out, or maybe they just do not care how these funds are spent.

While the child support laws in Tennessee are stringent, it may be difficult for parents to find information about how the custodial parent must handle child support funds.

In one example discussed in the Huffington Post, a father who made his child support payments faithfully said that his children often requested money from him to purchase shoes, clothing and other basic needs items. The dad explained that he has no problem paying his support obligations, He simply believed that the other parent should use the money for its intended purpose.

It is difficult to specify exactly how issues like these should be handled. The parent paying child support should consult with a legal professional about any possible misuse use of this money. Together, the parent and their attorney can create a plan to correct the wrongful use of support funds.

By creating such a plan, the noncustodial parent may have a better chance of proving to the court that funds meant for the children are being used to pay for the custodial parent’s personal items or services. This will give a court the authority to enforce that parent’s proper use of child support.