Being a divorced parent who owes child support in New Jersey may be made easier with a new app developed by a parent who had difficulty tracking expenses. The app makes it easier to log each child-related purchase and notifies someone of upcoming bills to be paid.
An app that keeps track of what has been paid can act as possible documentation of the contribution each parent has made. In many cases, both parents have expenses when raising a child. Some or most may be covered in the basic support order, but life often dictates variables that don’t make it into the original family court paperwork.
The parent of five or six might not have many activities and equipment to pay for, but as the children grow, their interests may change and include more expensive hobbies. Some may even grow to develop certain medical conditions. Violin lessons or a season of hockey are above and beyond the costs for basic food, clothing and shelter. Keeping track of such items and which parent paid the bill can be valuable if requests are made to adjust support amounts.
Throughout a child’s lifetime, modification of support may be necessary. If the custodial parent finds that more support is necessary to adjust for cost of living increases or a shift in the child’s needs, a request can be made through the court to increase support payments. The parent paying support could lose a job or have a change in income that might warrant an official adjustment of the support payments. A family law attorney may be able to help a parent who needs to change the amount of their support. An attorney could also draft the necessary documents and advise their client on how much adjustment may be warranted by a court.
Source: Fast Company , “Supportpay Aims to Take Headaches Out of Child Support and Family Finances “, David Zax, February 18, 2014
