Additional Child Support: Mandatory Add-Ons
This article talks about child support and what are the mandatory add-ons.
- What are mandatory add-ons?
- Mandatory add-ons are additional child support that the court must order. They are as follows:
- Child care costs related to employment or to reasonably necessary education or training for employment skills.
- Reasonable uninsured health care costs for the children.
- What must the court do if it orders additional child support for uninsured health care costs?
- When making an order for reasonable uninsured health care costs,
the court must:
- Advise each parent of the parent’s rights and liabilities, including financial responsibilities.
- Include in the order the time period a parent has to reimburse the other parent for the first parent’s share of the uninsured health care costs.
- If a parent pays uninsured health care costs, what should be done next?
- If a parent incurs or pays uninsured health care costs, he or she must provide the other parent with an itemized statement of these costs within a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days after incurring the costs.
- If a parent has already paid all of the costs, what should be done next?
- A parent who has already paid all of the costs must provide proof of payment and a request to the other parent for reimbursement of his or her court-ordered share.
- If a parent has only paid his or her portion, what should be done next?
- A parent who has paid only his or her court-ordered share of the costs must provide proof of payment and a request to the other parent to pay the remainder of the costs directly to the provider. The other parent must reimburse or pay the remaining costs within the period that is specified by the court.
- When should the costs be paid?
- The costs must be paid within the period that is specified by the court. If there is no time period provided by the court, payment or reimbursement must be made within a reasonable time not to exceed 30 days from notification of the amount due, or according to any payment schedule set by the provider unless the parties agree in writing to another schedule or the court finds good cause for setting another schedule.
- What should a parent do if they want to dispute a request for payment?
- If a parent wants to dispute a request for payment, he or she must first pay the requested amount before seeking judicial relief.
- What is the extent of the court’s power to enforce an order for additional child support?
- The court has broad enforcement powers such as execution, appointment, of a receiver, or contempt. It may also award filing costs, and reasonable attorneys fees if it finds that either parent acted without reasonable cause regarding that parent’s obligation to pay health care costs.
- Which health care insurance coverage must be used?
- The health care insurance coverage provided by the parent under court order is the coverage that must be used at all time unless the other parent shows that this coverage is inadequate to meet the child’s needs.
- What if a parent obtains additional health care insurance coverage?
- When a parent obtains additional health care insurance coverage, he or she bears sole financial responsibility for its costs and any care or treatment obtained under this coverage that exceed costs that would incur under coverage provided for in the court order.
- What are the relevant facts that the court must consider in ruling on a motion for additional child support?
- The court must consider all relevant facts such as:
- The geographic access and reasonable availability of necessary health care for the child which complies with the terms of the health care insurance coverage paid for by either parent pursuant to a court order. Health insurance shall be rebuttably presumed to be accessible if services to be provided are within 50 miles of the residence of the child subject to the support order. If the court determines that health insurance is not accessible, the court shall state the reason on the record.
- The necessity of emergency medical treatment that may have precluded the use of the health care insurance, or the preferred health care provider required under the insurance, provided by either parent pursuant to a court order.
- The special medical needs of the child.
- The reasonable inability of a parent to pay the full amount of reimbursement within a 30-day period and the resulting necessity for a court-ordered payment schedule.
