Child care

[Babbs3052]

I had an uncontested divorce when my daughter was 8 years old.  In the decree, we agreed that child care would be split in half.  We also agreed on a child support amount not based on the tables because our joint income was higher than $10,000. 

Our daughter is now 13 years old.  This summer, my ex husband plans to enroll our daughter in a summer program and says that I am responsible for half.  Is there an age at which child care is no longer an issue, or will I be half responsible for summer camp until she is 19?

[livealittle]

not being a lawyer, my response may be worthless, but I'm going to say you can't change anything agreed to in your divorce as far as child support/child care goes without filing a joint petition to modify.....just speculating.

[Babbs3052]

I would agree with you if child care was included with the child support; however, child care was listed separate in our decree.  So I'm not looking to change anything.  The decree states that we will split child care (not summer camp).  Is there an age at which child care is no longer applicable because of age?  I know that for tax purposes, child care can only be claimed while the child is 12.  Once she hits 13, the child care credit cannot be taken.   

[~flipdizzy~]

Check out this web site...http://www.ctf.state.al.us/. There is a number to call and they will be able to tell you what the rules or laws are for the state of Alabama as far as the age it is appropriate to leave a child alone.

It may come down to the maturity of the child and the feelings of the parents. If you and your ex disagree on the matter and he feels she is not mature enough to be left alone then you may have a problem that means modification of the original decree. I agree that summer camp would not be considered child care...not in my mind anyway. At her age though, if your ex feels she still needs to be with adults while he works then he may feel that putting her in summer camp woudl be better than daycare because she has gotten older.

Is this summer camp more expensive than the usually summer child care that she has been getting? Is there no language in your divorce decree that would cover resolving disputes such as this?

[Lee Borden]

You raise an interesting question. For starters, 13's a tad old for a child to need day care. At that age, my assumption is that the summer program is happening because (a) Dad wants the kid kept busy, (b) the kid is excited about it, or (c) the summer program is going to offer some enrichment experience that the parents believe is important.

Second, Alabama has child care cost guidelines that may be helpful to you. You can check them out at http://www.divorceinfo.com/alchildcarerates.htm.

What happens if you just say "no thank you"?