What Is Child Support Supposed to Cover?

 Posted on March 18, 2025 in Child Support

Child support is intended to ensure that children’s basic needs are met following a divorce or separation. However, parents often disagree about what expenses child support should cover. While child support payments are typically calculated using a formula, there is some flexibility in their amount, especially for parents with children who have additional needs.

The first step to negotiating child support payments that meet your child’s needs is to talk to an Illinois child support attorney who can help you understand what child support is meant to cover and when you can ask for more.

Basic Necessities: The Core of Child Support

Child support is meant to help cover the essential costs of raising a child. These include:

• Food and clothing: Child support is meant to provide healthy food and appropriate clothing for a child.

• Housing and utilities: A portion of child support is meant to go to rent or mortgage payments, electricity, water, and other household expenses that ensure a stable home environment.

• Medical care: Illinois law requires that child support accounts for a child’s medical and dental care, including insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.

Education and Extracurricular Activities

Child support does not cover only the bare essentials; it also helps maintain a child's quality of life. Educational expenses can include school tuition, fees, and books; tutoring, if necessary; and extracurricular activities, within reason.

However, school tuition and extracurricular activities can be very expensive and parents often do not agree about what is necessary or reasonable for their child. Parents who disagree about where a child should go to school, or whether a child should go to sports or music lessons, need to figure out these issues in the parental responsibilities section of their parenting plan.

Childcare and Transportation

When both parents work, childcare costs can add up quickly. Fortunately, Illinois Courts often consider childcare expenses when calculating child support. These include daycare costs, after-school programs, and summer camps that provide care while a parent is at work.

Transportation expenses are also relevant. This includes costs associated with driving a child to school, medical appointments, and visitation exchanges. If parents live far away from each other and a child needs to fly to visit a parent, these costs may be factored into child support calculations.

What Child Support Does Not Usually Cover

There are some expenses that may not be covered by basic child support payments, including:

• College tuition: While Illinois law allows a Court to order parents to contribute to post-secondary education, this is handled separately from child support obligations.

• Unnecessary luxuries: Expensive electronics, designer clothing, and other non-essential purchases are generally not considered necessary expenses.

• Parental expenses: Child support is intended for the child’s needs, not the receiving parent’s personal expenses unrelated to the child’s care.

Can Parents Negotiate Additional Expenses?

Parents may agree to divide additional costs beyond what standard child support covers. A parenting agreement can outline how parents will handle expenses such as private school tuition, travel, and medical procedures not covered by insurance. If parents cannot agree, a Judge may decide how these costs should be shared.

Contact an Arlington Heights, IL Child Support Lawyer

If you have concerns about child support payments and what they should cover, an attorney at The Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson, P.C. can help. Whether you need to establish, modify, or enforce child support, our Inverness, IL family lawyer is ready to guide you through the process. Call us at 847.873.6741 to schedule a free consultation and get answers to your child support questions.