If you have children, you know the cost of sports, dance, music lessons and other extracurriculars represents a significant expense. When you and your spouse decide to end your marriage, you may have concerns about continuing to fund those activities.
Review these considerations when deciding how to share the cost of extracurricular activities with your coparent.
Adding extracurriculars to child support
Florida judges can deviate from the state child support guidelines to cover additional expenses based on the child’s needs. However, they may not order either parent to pay more than he or she can afford. If you plan to ask for primary custody of your children, you can also ask the judge to adjust child support to cover the cost of extracurricular activities, camps, field trips and related expenses.
Negotiating extracurricular costs
You can also attempt to come to an agreement on this issue with your spouse. If you are able to negotiate a parenting plan independently or with the help of a mediator, it can include details about how to share these extra costs. For example, if you have two children who participate in similar activities, you may want to simply split the expenses evenly.
Calculating true expenses
Before negotiating with your spouse or going to court, tabulate the monthly extracurricular spending for each of your children. Include items such as uniforms, equipment and transportation to and from events.
Remember that extracurricular activity costs tend to increase as your children get older. You may need to modify your parenting plan to include these expenses later if you divorce with very young children.
