Work Related Child Care

North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
1

My consent order for child support calls for me to pay all work related child care for my ex-spouse. She has left the workforce and went back to school. I understand the need for childcare while attending school, which she claims is full time. She goes Monday to Thursday from 8:30 - 1:30. I am currently paying for after school child care for Mondays, Tuesdays & Fridays from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. She claims she still needs the child care so she can study as she is a full time student.

My question is should I be required to pay for work related child care for hours when she is not attending school? Especially on Fridays when she does not even have classes?

2

You could file for modification of your child support order. You would need to show a substantial change in circumstances, I would argue that her quitting her job to attend school full time is a substantial change in circumstances. Be careful though, as she isn’t generating income a modification may result in you having a larger support obligation. Whether your current order requires you to pay for child care while she is not in school, but studying, is a difficult question to answer. It really depends on how a judge would interpret that language and whether he or she would find these additional times reasonable.