Direct Payment Of Money

• The child support guidelines in force in your state can provide you with a guide of how much child support should be paid. Once you've settled on an amount, support can be paid directly to the custodial parent without going through the court system. The obligor — the one who owes support — should pay with a check or money order whenever possible. That way, if a dispute later arises over whether or not a given payment was actually made, there will be documentary evidence that lawyers or child support agents can review to sort out any confusion.
  
  

Direct Provision Of In-Kind Support

• Child support doesn't have to be money — not exactly, anyway. Some noncustodial parents support their children by providing the custodial parent with an automobile or a place to live. Others will take care of the children while the custodial parent works. Sometimes, a noncustodial parent provides the other with necessaries for the child whenever the need arises. As guidelines aren't typically designed to handle in-kind support, this kind of arrangement will require substantial cooperation and a very cordial relationship between the mother and father.
  
  

Indirect Payment

• Sometimes, it's possible to make child support arrangements by agreeing to pay certain bills or expenses on behalf of the custodial parent in lieu of direct payments of money. In a divorce situation, for example, each party may be responsible for half of the marital debt. The parties may agree that the noncustodial parent will support the children by paying marital debts that would otherwise fall upon the custodial parent. This frees up a greater portion of the custodial parent's income to use for the benefit of the couple's children.
  
  

No Payments At All

• The case may arise that neither you nor your ex pays any child support at all. Parties who make relatively the same money and split custody of their children may agree that each parent will support the children while exercising physical placement. If any big expenses come up, they may divide them evenly. In this way, each party is bearing responsibility for supporting their children — they're just not paying each other. In most states, though, parents can't make an enforceable agreement to never pursue child support, since support is viewed as a right of a child and not the parents. If one side of an equal expense-sharing arrangement loses his or her job, the parties might have to review the support question.