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Who Pays for the Kids’ Summer Camp After Divorce?

April 25, 2022
A Delaware County Family Law Lawyer at Eckell Sparks Can Help You Modify Your Existing Custody Agreement.

Summertime is a golden time for children: school is out and there are opportunities for unique and fun experiences. Attending a summer camp might be among those opportunities for your children.

But who pays for the childrens’ summer camp after a divorce? Ideally, both parents might contribute equally to such opportunities for their children. That is not always possible. And the ultimate responsibility might not be clear.

Parenting Schedule Could Settle Responsibilities

Your divorce likely included parenting agreements. If so, the agreements might detail who should pay for children’s extracurricular activities, as might a child custody order.

A parenting agreement should include a custody schedule and who is responsible for paying various costs. The cost of children’s summer camps and other extracurricular activities should be part of the custody agreement.

If you are going through the divorce process, you should make the cost of extracurricular activities one of the issues that are addressed. That will help to set the groundwork for future payment of summer camp fees. It also will help to ensure your children have opportunities to do more than play video games during the summer break.

How to Resolve Parental Responsibility Issues for Summer Camp?

Many divorces that involve children produce a parenting schedule. The parenting schedule determines which parents have custody at certain times.

The schedule can be especially helpful for sharing custody on major holidays. In many cases, the holiday sharing schedule alternates from year to year. That gives each parent an equal opportunity to enjoy the holidays with their children.

A similar schedule could apply to summer camps. That could be especially if the summer camps offer activities for parents and their children.

Flexibility is Important to  Maintain Peaceful Relations

One parent might normally be responsible for providing the funding for a summer camp. But the many changes in life might make it unaffordable for a summer or possibly ever again.

It is important to consider the financial situation of both spouses and remain flexible on matters like paying for your children’s summer camp. That is especially true if one spouse suffered a serious illness or injuries due to some unfortunate event.

If one parent is in temporary financial straits, maybe the other parent can cover the costs that summer with an agreement to cover other expenses later. Maybe both parents can chip in equally and cover the cost of summer camp.

It also might be necessary for your children to learn a valuable life lesson. That lesson might be that finances are fickle and we all have to make small sacrifices at times.

Modification of Custody Order Might Declare Responsibility

One or both parents might have experienced significant life changes since the divorce was finalized. Those changes might merit a review of the parental custody order.

It is possible to modify existing parental custody agreements to reflect respective changes in the lives of each divorced parent. The court usually is happy to do so to help maintain relative peace between parents and for the benefit of the children affected.

A Delaware County Family Law Lawyer at Eckell Sparks Can Help You Modify Your Existing Custody Agreement

You can get help with your child custody issues from an experienced Delaware County family law attorney at Eckell, Sparks, Levy, Auerbach, Monte, Sloane, Matthews & Auslander, P.C. You can call 610-565-3701 or contact us online to schedule a consultation at our law offices in Media and West Chester, Pennsylvania. We represent clients in Delaware County, Chester County, Montgomery County, and throughout Pennsylvania.