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, glasses, 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.

In Minnesota, child support is governed by state statutes that outline the financial responsibilities of non-custodial parents. Child support payments are intended to cover a child's basic needs, which include food, clothing, shelter, and education. While the law provides guidelines for calculating child support, it does not always specify the extent to which child support should cover additional expenses such as school supplies, health care, braces, glasses, dental care, uninsured medical expenses, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. These additional expenses are often considered when determining the child support amount, and parents are encouraged to discuss and agree upon how to handle these costs. Minnesota courts can order both parents to contribute to these additional expenses based on factors such as the parents' incomes, the needs of the child, and the child's standard of living if the parents were living together. In cases of dispute, the court may intervene to determine how these costs should be divided. It is advisable for parents to clearly outline the handling of anticipated future costs in their parenting or support agreements to prevent conflicts.