My ex-wife has primary custody of our 11 year old boy. I have him 172 overnights a year, yet I pay child support using Worksheet A instead of Worksheet B. To me this seems unfair because Worksheet A is typically reserved for when the child-support payer has less than 123 overnights a year and therefore less expenses overall.
My question is, doesn’t Worksheet A also have some monetary factors built into it such as funds for extracurricular activities and such? My ex keeps asking for additional money to pay for football/baseball etc. My assumption is that because we are using Worksheet A instead of Worksheet B (I should be using B), and I have our son almost half the time, the extra money she is getting should cover those additional expenses.
Extracurricular activities and non-medical expenses do not have to be divided as part of child support. Those are the types of expenses partially built into the amount. Your payment of those expenses is optional.
Also, if you have your child 172 overnights a year you should be using worksheet B. Using Worksheet B usually means child support calculates out less (in my experience). You would have to run your own numbers through the cs calculator on this site.
The term custody gets people confused…custody is just where and who the child lives the majority of the time. Having a worksheet a and worksheet b is NC’s guideline for further distinction based on the number of overnights each parent has time with the child. The concept being if you have over 123 overnights your cost for keeping the child in your home is more therefore you pay less to the (physical) custodial parent.