Location: Missouri
My parents divorced in fall 2022 when I was 18. Since, my father has been paying my mother child support for my younger brother and I. For a little extra background, I do not have the money currently for a consult fee, but my father would likely help me out if we had a better sense of this case having potential to be resolved.
I was not really aware my mother was receiving child support for me also, until reconnecting with my father in fall 2024. Mother basically claimed she “forgot” some of the child support she has always received is for me, but agreed to start sending me some of it since I am moved out. (“Forgetting” is bs, I have proof in a text/email exchange with her in early 2024 about her filling out my FAFSA and getting child support info from my father) Since the divorce I had not recieved much financial support from her. She also agreed at the time to gradually “pay me back” “my portion” of the child support she had never utilized on me, equating to thousands of dollars.
Fast forward to this spring, had some personal conflicts with her, unrelated to this matter, but she refused to pay me or support me anymore. I have recently turned 21, so she no longer receives support for me, but at the time there were still 3 months or so left of receiving support for me. After thought and discussion with my father we have reasonable suspicion my mother has not been utilizing the child support she receives for strictly child-supporting purposes, like an indirect alimony for lack of a better term.
Could not supporting me and refusing to support me be a violation of the child support agreement? Could this be classified as breaking a verbal agreement/oral contract to “pay me back?” Could this be grounds for an investigation into unlawful usage of child support?
Comments
Child support doesn’t have to be used for “strictly child-supporting purposes.” There are numerous indirect costs associated with raising children, including rent, food, electricity, and other expenses. The receiving parent can use the child support as general money.
Your father may have a case against your mother, but you do not. If you were moved out and 100 percent independent, it’s likely your father wouldn’t be required to pay child support for you. But, again, that case is between your father and your mother. You have never been entitled to any of the money.
You aren’t suing your mother for not using your child support “right”. That’s not really a thing. The rare times where this has happened has been where a child has been neglected while under the care of a parent receiving child support.
You do not now, and never had, the right to that child support. Your mother doesn’t have to give it to you or account for it to you or your father. Child support is a payment intended to offset the costs of raising a child. It’s not a one-to-one accounting of specific dollars spent on a child.
Potentially, your father(not you) could seek a refund of the three months in which your mother wasn’t taking care of you. Realistically, such an action is going to make your father look even more petty than this post already does, and will likely not lead to a positive outcome for him.