On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in child support on Sunday, March 17, 2019.
Foregoing your career ambitions to stay home and raise your kids in Wichita may be a sacrifice that you are perfectly willing to make. Yet what happens, then, if you and your spouse subsequently choose to get a divorce? The simple answer is that you re-enter the workforce. Yet if your kids are still at an age where they require consistent adult supervision, that may be difficult. Daycare quickly becomes a necessity, yet its costs can be high. Thus, many in your same situation come to us here at the Stange Law Firm PC asking if sharing such costs can be included in their divorce agreements.
Information compiled by the Boston Globe shows the average cost of daycare in Kansas to be over $10,500 annually. If you do not yet have gainful employment, affording those costs may be next to impossible. Yet you need not worry; the court considers many factors beyond simply paying for the rooming and boarding of your children when determining child support.
According to the website for the Kansas Judicial Branch, work-related child care costs are included when determining your child support obligation. Notice, however, that such coverage is only made available for “work-related” child support. “Work-related” would be child care assistance to allow you to go to work or spend time finding a job. Your ex-spouse will typically not be asked to cover any daycare costs associated with allowing you to engage in social activities.
It should also be remembered that your ex-spouse may not necessarily be required to cover the total cost of daycare. Rather, you both may be required to pay a portion of those costs that is representative of the amount you both contribute to your monthly child support obligation. More information on child support requirements can be found throughout our site.
