The US Government Estimates that It Costs $1,340 a Month for High-Income Families to Raise a Child--Why Are Some Men Paying 20 Times That Much in Child Support?

According to the latest U.S. Government estimates, the average family in the highest income bracket (average income--$112,000 per year) spends $1,340 a month to raise each child. Yet some men are paying 20 times that much a month in child support. Most of this money is not going to the child, but instead to finance a wealthy lifestyle for the custodial parent. That's not the purpose of child support, which is supposed to be for the child.

To learn more about the cost of raising a child, see "Table 1. Estimated annual expenditures on a child by husband-wife families, overall United States, 2006" on page 18 (page 26 on the PDF) of the United States Department of Agriculture's Expenditures on Children by Families, 2006.

(Note: because it is more economically efficient to raise a child in a two-parent family than in two separate families, there are extra costs incurred by both the custodial and noncustodial parents when the mother and father are divorced or separated.)

 

 

 

High-Earner Child Support Cases in the News

The Bren Case: A Refreshing Perspective on Child Support
12/28/07

Let the child support negotiations begin
Arizona Daily Star, 8/23/07
"[NFL Star quarterback] Tom Brady’s ex-girlfriend gave birth to a son Wednesday in Los Angeles. Let the child support negotiations begin."

T-Mac Has Child Support Issues
AOL Sports, 8/17/07
"Tracy McGrady is generally known as one of the league's good guys, not to mention one of its most likable...McGrady's attorneys say in court records that the [ex-girlfriend's child support] claim is more about the mother's 'desire for a high lifestyle rather than any reasonable needs of a minor child.'"

Matt Leinart, Brynn Cameron Agree on $15,000 a Month Child Support
AOL Sports, 7/30/07
"Leinart will shell out $15,000 per month in child support, around half of what [ex-girlfriend] Cameron claimed she needed to care for the couple's nine-month-old son, Cole."

Giants' Strahan Said to Weigh Retirement
Associated Press, 7/27/07
"Shrahan considers retirement or is bargaining for more money after his ex was 'awarded $15.3 million along with child support for their twin daughters at $18,000 a month.'"

She Squanders Her Divorce Settlement, so He Has to Pay Her Again--30 Years Later! / UK Alimony Outrage Reversed
Glenn Sacks' Blog, 7/26/07, 7/3/07
"Dennis North gets married and has three kids. His wife cheats on him and they get divorced. Dennis buys her a house and investments as part of the divorce settlement, and raises the three kids himself. Later, he pays her more money, even though she refuses to work. She squanders the money he gave her, and now, 30 years later, guess what? He has to pay her all over again because she's 'fallen on hard times.'"

 

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