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 West Virginia, child support is governed by state statutes that establish guidelines to calculate the financial support owed by the non-custodial parent. The primary intention of child support is to cover the basic needs of the child, such as food, clothing, shelter, and education. While the law provides a framework for these basic expenses, it does not always specify the extent to which child support should cover additional costs like school supplies, healthcare, orthodontics, glasses, dental care, uninsured medical expenses, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. These additional expenses can often be a point of contention between parents. To address this, West Virginia courts may consider these additional expenses when issuing or modifying child support orders. Parents are encouraged to communicate and negotiate these costs and may include provisions for sharing these expenses in their parenting plans or child support agreements. In cases where parents cannot agree, the court may intervene to determine how these costs should be divided, often considering the best interests of the child and the financial circumstances of both parents.