How Are Child Care Expenses Divided after Divorce?

A trustworthy, compassionate childcare provider makes an incredible asset to any family. When you’re no longer living with your child’s other parent, confidence that your little one will be well looked after while you’re at work becomes an even more welcome relief.

Unfortunately, that relief can come at a daunting cost for most New Jersey families. 

Childcare expenses are already out of budget for many two-income households, and with the financial fluctuations that come during and after the divorce process, high-quality childcare can feel even less attainable.

While there are more affordable daycare alternatives, such as babysitting provided by a relative or nanny-shares, these can become complicated when parents separate. Different residences, parenting time plans, and complex family relationships make the equation even more unbalanced.

As you adjust to a household budget based on a single income instead of two, you’ll face many difficult financial decisions. Fortunately, with the right family law attorney on your side, managing childcare costs doesn’t have to be one of them.

Child support payments don’t always cover childcare expenses, but they can be divided after divorce—even if your child doesn’t attend daycare while in the other parent’s care. 

What’s the difference between childcare and child support? 

Figuring out how to best provide for your child following your separation from your partner is challenging enough as it is. Understanding what different terms mean, what they entail, and how they apply to you can make things feel even more complicated, so here’s what you need to know. 

Child support

Child support payments are money that the noncustodial parent (the parent whom the child spends less time with) pays to the custodial parent (the parent whom the child spends the most time with). Monthly child support payments are intended to contribute to the child’s basic monthly living expenses like food, clothing, personal care, and shelter. 

Childcare

Childcare is the physical care of a child in the absence of their parents. For example, your child may attend daycare or a preschool while you are at work. In addition to basic care such as feeding and diapering, some childcare programs offer an educational curriculum. This prepares children for kindergarten and provides them with long-term benefits such as improved language development, better social skills, and higher cognitive abilities.

How are childcare expenses divided?

It could seem reasonable (especially to the noncustodial parent) that each parent should pay for any childcare expenses incurred on their own parenting time. However, the court believes that childcare expenses are an obligation of both parents and that both parents have the right—and even responsibility—to be employed. 

Much like child support, the court usually divides childcare expenses according to each parent’s income. The parent who makes more money is usually expected to contribute a greater share of the childcare expenses—even if they don’t use childcare services directly. 

Remember that the state’s Child Support Guidelines protect children’s right to financial support by ensuring that each parent contributes to the cost of sheltering, feeding, and clothing their child in proportion to their income. The court considers both parents’ income, along with the percentage of expenses that each parent would be expected to pay if the family were intact. For example, if you and your child’s other parent make the exact same salary, you’d each be expected to pay half of your child’s expenses—including childcare costs. 

How a family law attorney can help 

When your child needs financial support, a family law attorney can guide you through potential solutions that best fit your family’s needs. 

Whether you and your co-parent want to make a joint decision on how childcare expenses should be divided or your co-parent refuses to contribute to childcare expenses at all, a family law attorney can help you:

• Seek a temporary child support order and additional orders to cover childcare expenses during the divorce process 
• Determine how much child support is recommended under New Jersey Child Support Guidelines
• Anticipate the amount of future child support payments 
• Understand which expenses are covered by child support
• Pursue a fair division of child care expenses through litigation
• Obtain a court order detailing how childcare expenses should be divided after divorce 
• File a petition for an amended child support order if one parent is intentionally unemployed or underemployed to avoid paying child support or child care expenses 

Our approach

Every divorce process and child custody arrangement is unique. The way your child’s expenses are divided should be, too.

At Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski, we believe that you deserve to know—and understand—every aspect of your family law matter. Our team of experienced family law attorneys takes your child’s wellbeing and financial support seriously and can work with you to make informed, personalized financial decisions for your child.

From negotiation and mediation to aggressive litigation, our discerning family law attorneys deliver the least expensive, most collaborative solution possible—but have the knowledge and resources necessary to defend your parental rights in court when needed.

Legal advice for childcare expenses and child support

Navigating any issue involving your child’s financial security can feel scary. Your child support order and division of child care expenses will impact every area of your family’s well being, so they should be created with the help of a family law attorney.

Schedule your consultation now to get started.