How Do we Share Child-Care Costs?

One of the great things about marriage (among many) is you always have a built-in babysitter. Whether it’s mom staying home with the kids, or dad caring for the kids while mom is at work, you adjust schedules so you don’t incur child-care costs.

And then you divorce, and everything changes.

Sometimes, you can still make schedules work so you don’t pay for babysitters, but this is exponentially harder than during your marriage. In Utah divorces, almost invariably, there is not enough money to go around, so both parents have to work. And when both parents work, people pay for child-care.

Recognizing this fact of divorce, how do you address child-care costs?

Utah Law Regarding What Child-Care Costs to Include in Divorce Decrees and Paternity Orders

Here’s what Utah law has to say about what child-care costs should be included in divorce decrees and paternity orders:

Child care costs.

Utah Code, Section 78B-12-215.

So, the law really breaks child-care expenses in to two categories.

1. Child-care necessitated by work.

If work requires child-care costs, then it is presumed those costs will be included in a divorce decree (or a paternity order).

2. Child-care necessitated by career or occupational training of the custodial parent.

This really refers to schooling (e.g., college) or other occupational training. While including these costs is not required, they are almost always ordered by a judge or included in a negotiated settlement.

Utah Law Regarding Sharing Child-Care Costs.

Now that we’ve established what category of costs will be included in divorce and paternity, let’s see what Utah law has to say about how parents share those costs:

Child care expenses

Utah Code, Section 78B-12-214.

So, the law mandates parents equally share work-related child-care costs.

You can always bargain around a 50/50 split, but if you go to trial, you can count on a judge ordering 50/50.

Notice the laws talk about “actually incurring child care costs” and “actual expenses incurred.” This is referring to out-of-pocket costs. You only have to share and reimburse monies actually paid for child-care services.

So, if your ex-mother-in-law watches the kids everyday, you don’t have to reimburse her for that.

(Now, if your ex-mother-in-law ran a legit daycare and she was watching your kids as part of that, and you ex is paying for those services, then you may have to pay. Honestly, though, what I just described is way less than 1% of cases.)

How Child-Care Costs Are Split in Real Life Utah Divorce and Child Custody Situations.

We talked about the law, but how does all this work out in most Utah divorce and paternity cases?

You end up sharing equally work-related and school-related child-care costs — almost always.

There are some select situations in which one person makes so much more than the other that one person pays 100%. This really only happens in negotiation though; I have never seen a judge order someone to pay 100% of child-care costs on a permanent basis.