Understanding the Situation
Am I being unreasonable for refusing to pay for extracurriculars until the other parent provides a receipt for the same? I’m Tulsa Attorney, James Wirth, that’s the question that received it. Is it unreasonable to demand a receipt prior to paying? So first off, a little bit of background.
The person that contacted us, just a public comment on our Facebook post or YouTube, basically says that the other parent has enrolled the child in extracurricular activities, doesn’t have a problem paying, but he doesn’t know the amount, and he’s concerned that she may be inflating it in order to get more money. He’s asked for a receipt or for proof of the amount. He’s contacted the provider, and they won’t talk to him because she didn’t put him on there as a person to talk to, so he wants to know if he’s being unreasonable.
Legal Perspective
So first off, I want to note that extracurricular activities are generally not provided pursuant to the Oklahoma Child Support Guidelines. So in this case, we’ve got an order in place that determines custody, visitation, child support. And child support determines an amount to be paid, and that’s supposed to cover all those things, and it does not cover extracurriculars. You’re not obligated to pay extracurriculars unless there’s a separate provision for that, which the parties could agree to and could be ordered by agreement, but is not generally part of the Child Support Guidelines.
So first off, I would say that by agreeing to pay those extracurriculars, you are stepping up, and that is a fair thing to do because the other party that’s enrolling the child, which is typically the primary custodian, they’re not required to enroll them, and if they do enroll them technically, that has to be on their own dime unless the other party agrees. So by stepping up and saying you’re willing to pay your portion even though it’s not ordered, that’s a good thing to do.
Ensuring Fairness
But if you’re gonna do that, is it reasonable to require a receipt? It is. Generally, when these types of things are ordered, usually there’s a 30-30 rule, which provides that the one parent that’s providing it, they confront that cost. They then provide proof of payment of the same to the other parent within 30 days, and then that other parent has 30 days to reimburse for their portion, which is usually pro rata based on income under the Child Support Guidelines. That would be a typical order if it was ordered, but again, because it’s an extracurricular, generally it would not be ordered absent an agreement of the parties.
Final Thoughts and Action
So if the question is, are you being unreasonable? I don’t believe you are. But there may be more circumstances to your case, and there may be more questions that you have, so I would tell you probably reach out for a consultation with more specific information with an attorney in your area. If you’d like to get that scheduled with an attorney at my office, you can go online to makelaweasy.com for a low-cost initial strategy session.
