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 Nebraska, child support is governed by state statutes that establish guidelines to calculate the financial support owed by the noncustodial parent. The primary intention of child support is to cover the basic needs of the child, such as food, clothing, shelter, and education. While Nebraska law does not provide an exhaustive list of expenses that child support must cover, it does recognize that children should share in the standard of living of both parents. Therefore, child support may indirectly contribute to various child-rearing costs like school supplies, healthcare, and extracurricular activities. However, the specifics of what child support payments must cover are not explicitly detailed in the statutes. In cases where the allocation of additional expenses is a concern, parents are encouraged to reach an agreement on how to handle these costs, potentially through mediation or as part of the child support order. If parents cannot agree, the court may decide based on the best interests of the child. An attorney can provide guidance on how Nebraska's child support laws apply to individual circumstances and assist in negotiating or litigating the inclusion of additional child-related expenses in child support calculations.