Posted to Resource Articles
by Elizabeth Cox on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 7:29am
The saying goes that the face of poverty is a woman.
Make that a divorced or single mother with insufficient child support. On average women experience a dramatic drop in their standard of living after divorce while a man's standard of living improves significantly.
Why the disparity?
First of all, because there is no financial value assigned to the time we tend to our children, this value is not computed in divorce agreements. There is no accounting for the opportunity cost of lost salary and career growth for the hours spent taking care of a child.
Also, child support guidelines, which are determined state by state, are not intended to cover all costs associated with raising a child, and often fall far short. They take into account the cost of food, housing, clothing, and some healthcare expenses. But they do not cover a range of other expenses from after school activities like music lessons or sport lessons to vacations, or restaurant meals to school supplies. These expenses rise significantly as children get older.
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