Due to divorce rates being on the rise, child support is becoming more of an issue for many families in today's society. Unfortunately, the child support system is set up in a way that does not seem to have the best interest of the children at heart. The system inherently favors the custodial parent and tends to punish the non-custodial parent. There are a range of problems and abuses associated with the current child support system due to the way its set up.
For example, there have been instances where the custodial parent does not spend the child support money on his or her children. Instead, they spend the money on themselves. Furthermore, there are custodial parents who will do whatever possible, mostly out of spite, greed and resentment of a failed marriage, to make sure the non- custodial parent pays child support through the nose. There have also been cases where custodial parents actually encourage their children to fail high school, so they can continue to receive child support for the child past the age of 18. Moreover, there are situations where the custodial parent will pressure the non-custodial parent to provide extra money, on top of the child support they are already ordered to pay. Unfortunately, there are also many cases where the custodial parent will not send appropriate clothing and supplies to the non-custodial parent's house when the children are due to visit. This situation results in the non-custodial parent having to provide clothing and supplies at his or her household, and also having to pay child support at the same time. Finally, if the non-custodial parent decides to start a second family, no provisions are made for the children who are born into that second family by the child support system. This causes the children of the first marriage to receive support, while the children from the second marriage are not accounted for financially whatsoever.
In today's economy, many men and women have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Layoffs have been on the rise, companies are closing their doors and new jobs are not being created like they were in the past.
So why is it that so many states have chosen, more recently, to raise the pay standards regarding child support? In a bad economy, this makes no sense! When foreclosures are on the rise, and unemployment is at an all time high, what sense does it make to further punish the non-custodial parents in the midst of a recession? How does this benefit the children?
Many custodial parents are suddenly flooding the courts with modification requests to increase their child support orders because of the sudden increase in child support rates. The courts are suddenly inundated with these cases. This trend is forcing more and more non-custodial parents to file for a modification of custody, just to ease the burden of the high child support payments.
Greed, and a poorly devised child support system are essentially causing these trends and in the end, it's the children who are ultimately left to pay the price.
To sum up, the child support system needs to be completely revamped for the benefit of the children and to stop the financial injustices. Children should spend equal amounts of time with their parents, provided neither parent is abusive, neglectful or unfit. If this concept was mandated in to law, and 50/50 custody was the standard, there would not be an opportunity for one parent to essentially bankrupt the other. While one parent would still pay the other due to disparity in the incomes earned, the amount would not be nearly as high to cause the injustices seen today by the flawed system. In the end, it is in the child's best interest to spend equal amounts of time with both parents.
Finally, child support should be paid in the form of a debit card where only certain purchases would be approved. This would stop parents from spending the money on them selves, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or whatever they deem fit. A certain percentage of child support should be allocated to household bills and home improvements, while other portions should be allocated to food, clothing, school supplies, medical/dental needs, and entertainment. If the government can figure out how to do this very thing regarding food stamps, otherwise known as the independence card, why can't they do the same for all the children who may not be benefiting like they should be from child support?