Making sure that you and your ex understand the way that you are going to handle expenses related to the children can help you to avoid stressful situations. The sooner this agreement is made, the better.
One thing that you should do right away is to speak to your ex about what expenses will be shared. Decide right now how those will be handled. Will one parent cover the cost and the other parent reimburse their share? How long does the parent have to take care of the reimbursement? How will the reimbursed portion be calculated?
When you have an agreement, take the time to write out the agreement. This can help you to take the guesswork out of what is going to happen in the future when these expenses do come up. You and your ex should sign the agreement or both give written agreement if the agreement is electronic.
It is important to be realistic about what you can handle when it comes to financial matters. Don’t agree to pay something if you know that you aren’t going to be able to do so. Knowing what you can do and being honest can save a lot of trouble down the road.
Don’t ever think that it is acceptable to place your child in the middle of matters related to finances. Instead, always work these matters out directly with your ex in private. Your child doesn’t need to be used as a messenger or a pawn in trying to work out matters related to shared expenses and the reimbursements that might come with them.
Source: Our Family Wizard, “4 Simple Tips for Removing Stress from Shared Expenses and Reimbursements,” accessed Sep. 27, 2017
