Child support is generally intended to help with the costs of raising the child—including food, clothing, shelter, and education—but laws vary from state to state and are often unclear on the extent to which child support payments are intended to help the custodial parent pay for half of school supplies, health care, braces, dental care, uninsured medical care, transportation (car), daycare, sports camps, cheerleading camps, school trips, social activities, and extracurricular activities.
Most state laws (statutes) don’t identify the specific child-rearing costs to which the custodial parent is required to contribute payment from child support and other resources—and because these issues are frequently the source of parental conflict, parents should identify all expected future costs and agree to the process for sharing them.
Because child support obligations generally end when the child turns 18, moves to attend college, dies, or gets married, college expenses are generally not child support obligations. But because college tuition and the associated living expenses are substantial, some parents attempt to address these costs in divorce or other legal proceedings. Depending on the age of the child at the time of divorce and the parents’ financial resources, the funding of a 529 plan (qualified tuition plan) for the child is one option for parents to consider.
In Oklahoma, child support is intended to cover the basic needs of the child, which include food, clothing, shelter, and education. The Oklahoma Child Support Guidelines provide a framework for determining the amount of child support to be paid, which is based on the income of both parents and the needs of the child. While the guidelines aim to ensure that the child's needs are met, they do not provide an exhaustive list of specific expenses such as school supplies, health care, braces, dental care, uninsured medical care, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. These additional expenses are often negotiated between the parents and may be included in the child support order if agreed upon or deemed necessary by the court. In Oklahoma, child support obligations typically end when the child reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs later, but not beyond the age of 20. College expenses are not automatically included in child support obligations in Oklahoma. However, parents can voluntarily agree to contribute to college expenses, and such agreements can be incorporated into the child support order. Funding a 529 plan is one of the options parents may consider for future college expenses, but it is not mandated by law.