A New App May Eliminate Child Support Conflicts

If you think a divorce will end parental squabbles, you’re likely mistaken. Just because a divorce is finalized doesn’t mean you and your ex will never fight again, particularly if you have children involved. This is particularly true in the case of child support orders where a non-custodial spouse will often object to additional payment requests to cover costs of things that weren’t always foreseen in the initial parenting agreement.

However, one Silicon Valley executive is hoping to change that. Sheri Atwood grew up in a home torn apart by a divorce, and watched her parents fight tooth-and-nail over financial matters. Today, she has developed SupportPay, an app that benefits both custodial and non-custodial parents by facilitating requests and payments for miscellaneous expenses not included in parenting plans, and keeps records of these payments for purposes of proof of expense and receipt. This way, parents who have made these payments can get the most out of their tax exemptions and make sure they know what their money is going toward.

SupportPay is free to download and use for anyone who wishes to simply request, pay, track, and document expenses, but a $9.99 per month premium version allows parents to track and export their payment histories as well. Atwood says that the majority of parents she meets who pay child support are dedicated to providing that support, but they simply want to know that their money is going to their child, not to their ex.

Atwood programmed the first version of SupportPay by herself, teaching herself how to do so as she went along. Today, SupportPay has eight full-time team members, six contractors, and more than two and a half million dollars in startup funds from various sources, including SalesForce Ventures. Atwood left a $300,000 salary as a marketing executive in order to start the company full-time.

Support Payments & Your Family

Many parents face similar issues when requesting support payments for unforeseen or miscellaneous expenses. It’s perfectly normal to want to share the cost of things like daycare fees, extracurricular activities, or new hobbies that are good for a child, but requesting payment for these things can sometimes be intimidating and lead to conflict. If this sounds like an issue you’re facing, consider giving SupportPay a try and see if it makes this process easier and less contentious.