There are some circumstances in which a person paying child support may attempt to argue that the recipient of the money is misusing the funds intended to go toward raising the children. It is fairly common, for example, for payers to argue the recipient is living off those payments and not seeking employment of his or her own.
Keep in mind that there is no obligation for child support recipients to use child support money for specific expenses. The money they receive is essentially a stipend that supplements any other money they earn, allowing them to be in a better position to support their children financially. As such, the vast majority of states do not require the custodial parent to prove how they use the funds they receive from supporting parents.
While some states do have mechanisms in place to dictate that a recipient account for how the child support money is spent, Minnesota is not one of those states. So even though it may be frustrating to not know how the child support payments are being spent, it is not an option to attempt to gain that information through court proceedings.
To learn more about child support obligations and if there is any ability to change the amount paid, speak with a knowledgeable Minnesota divorce lawyer at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A.
