The goal of child support in Australia is to guarantee a child's well-being is adequately maintained and that both parents fulfil their financial commitments to their children following a divorce. As a result, reaching an acceptable arrangement with your former partner concerning child support payments is often in everyone's best interests.
As a moral obligation, you must pay for everything you wish for your child. This is certainly relevant when the child is under your care. When both parents see their child frequently, they must come to an agreement as co-parents about how fixed expenses will be handled, such as school fees or dentistry fees. Costs may be shared 50/50 as agreed.
Moreover, if certain disputes or custodial situations arise, child support would be vital in dividing the financial responsibility fairly.
Child support is a monetary payment made by one parent to the other. This is determined by the conditions of your care arrangements, as well as your income and a variety of other considerations. What it covers is not regulated by any laws, but standards concerning your child’s well-being.
When a child reaches the age of 18, child support payments traditionally come to an end. However, there are some exceptions to this. If your child is still in high school, the other parent (receiver of the child support payment) can apply to have child support payments extended until the end of the school year. As such, even though your child turned 18, child support in Australia will continue to be paid until graduation.
Along the years, you can also apply for a child support assessment. You'll have to fill in applications, explain why the assessment was altered and offer evidence to back up your claim. The other parent will be given the opportunity to react to the request for a change in child support.
Talk To a Family Lawyer in Sydney
We understand it's difficult and stressful to go through a divorce, particularly with children, and financial uncertainty does not help. We can assist you in reaching a reasonable agreement with your former spouse.
If you have any more questions on law related matters, head over to our blog section for more informative articles on a wide range of family law topics or feel free to give us a call to discuss further.
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