26 Jan How a Divorce Can Affect Your Children’s Financial Future
It is hard on everyone when parents decide to divorce. In-laws have to deal with ruptured relationships, friends have to determine how they’ll communicate with each party, and the divorcees must confront what life will look like upon separation. However, almost everyone would agree that children have the most challenging time coping with their parents’ split. Children of divorce struggle with feelings of guilt and shame. The entire structure of their life changes. This piece will discuss one such aspect of change: finances. Read more below about how a divorce affects your children’s financial future.
The Difference in Level of Time Spent with One or Both Parents
One way divorce affects a child financially is the difference in the level of extra time one parent or the other may have to spend with their kids. Typically, in divorce hearings, the judge will direct the parents to provide the same financial stability to the child, while now supporting more than one home. In a previous blog post, we examined how judges make their decisions based on the child’s best interests. Child support exists because it promotes the idea that children’s lives will be minimally affected by the split. Yet, this is not always the case.
Children’s lives will be affected because the parent paying child support may have to pick up another job to make the payments and still support themselves in their new living situation. Children who are used to having full access to both parents will see things change when one of them must seek additional employment. Often times, the non-visiting parent will use that time to earn extra money thus limiting their ability to watch extracurricular activities or remain as active with their kids. This notion is not to dismiss the importance of child support. Rather, it demonstrates how a divorce affects your children’s financial future.
Additional Note: Parents struggling financially may have to change their child’s care plan. Thousands of people lost their jobs due to the pandemic, so they’ve had to cut back on things like daycare. As such, divorced parents might have to look for cheaper daycare options due to their newfound lack of employment.
Cut Back on Extracurricular Activities
Grade-school children and teenagers love taking part in extracurricular activities. Things such as sports promote teamwork and communication later in life. So, many parents see the benefits of letting their children participate. However, as rewarding as these activities are, they are also quite expensive. You must pay for uniforms, equipment, gear, traveling, and team functions. Sooner or later, the money adds up.
Unfortunately, it may become a little more complicated for children because of their parent’s financial situation and often the way the Order for Support is written. It is very common that the extra-curricular activities must be agreed upon and are an additional expense beyond child support. When 2 homes are in in different financial situations and have difficulty agreeing, this can impact a child’s opportunities to attend extracurricular activities. There’s a chance the parent paying for child support will not be able to cover the associated fees. Additionally, the financial situation of the parent who isn’t paying for child support will also change. They’ll no longer have two incomes to support themselves. It’ll take a while for both parents to get financially adjusted right after the divorce and sometimes their children will have to reduce their extracurricular activities.
The Problem With College
Sadly, the financial effects of divorce on children extend to applying to college. A study from the US National Library of Medicine states that it is more common for children of divorce not to attend college compared to their classmates whose parents are still married. In fact, the study states that 0.7 percent of kids with divorced parents drop out of high school. This number increases to .13 in concerns to college students.
The study states there are multiple reasons for the increase in numbers. Below are a few key points everyone should know:
- Financial instability after the divorce results in the children not being able to get financial aid.
- Children do not want to add a financial burden to their parents, so they never apply.
Guidance for the Future
This article has put a spotlight on one aspect of divorce that the children of divorced parents experience: finances. After a divorce, children may experience a change in their level of activities if parents can no longer afford them, as well as an impact on the free time with either or both parents.
Regrettably, these issues can extend to young adulthood. A child of divorce is less likely to apply to college and is more likely to drop out upon admission.. All of these notions beg the question: what can you do? The answer is to plan and communicate with your former partner. LaCoste Family Law has one of the best child support lawyers in Washington State. Start by giving us a call, so we can begin to develop a plan that will not negatively affect your child’s life.
