When you’re receiving child support in Bakersfield, you may be concerned about how your actions may affect the amount you get. After all, many single parents just scrape by, and losing any amount can be detrimental to the livelihood of the child or children involved. Occasionally, the non-custodial parent may become upset or angry with how child support is being spent, and may even challenge the custodial parent in court over spending child support money in irresponsible ways.

In the state of California, there is no reason to account for how the money you receive is spent. Most child support awards come in the form of a check to your door, and once that check is cashed or in the bank, there’s no way to track where that money is going. You can pull bank records, but there’s no way to distinguish between child support money and regular cash spent from the account. In addition, documents are easy to falsify, making reporting where all of the child support goes almost impossible.

It is incredibly difficult to discuss child support in Bakersfield with your ex-spouse, especially if the separation was a difficult one. However, if you can find a way to openly communicate with your ex that you’re concerned about how they spent their money, you may have better luck than if you were to take them to court. However, they have no obligation to tell you where that money is going, and you do not have the right to demand anything of them as far as the way they handle child support money goes.

If you think your ex is being unreasonably irresponsible with child support money and you think your child may be suffering for it, then that’s a good time to consult an excellent Bakersfield lawyer to see what can be done.