Preliminary Considerations

• While there are basic guidelines in New Jersey law as to who is responsible for clothing a child, you should first consult your custody agreement. Read it closely, as it may contain details as to which parent should assume the responsibility. The custody agreement can be a dense document, so consult the attorney you worked with if you had one. If you cannot afford an attorney, locate a pro-bono legal clinic in your area; they are often located in law schools.
  
  

General Custodial Parent Obligations

• In general, a custodial parent is responsible for the everyday needs of the child, such as food, clothing, entertainment and personal care items, but this does not necessarily mean that he is wholly responsible for the cost of these items. The custody agreement should specify the child support available to the custodial parent from the noncustodial parent. If no child support was awarded, then the custodial parent is wholly responsible for the cost of the necessities.
  
  

Worksheets

• If your custody agreement did not contain specific provisions regarding what responsibilities each parent has for the child's needs or you would like some guidance as to how to divvy up expenses, New Jersey provides worksheets to help you determine guidelines for parental spending on children's needs. These worksheets generally ask you what sort of expenses the child incurs, often increasing in amount with the age of the child. The basic idea is that the cost of the child's needs are divided proportionally according to the parents' income. For example, if the noncustodial parent makes 60 percent more in annual salary, she pays 60 percent more of the costs than the custodial parent.
  
  

Possibilities for Assistance

• If your child custody agreement does specify that you are responsible for the costs of clothing the child but you cannot afford this cost or you feel the amount of support that you were awarded is too little, you may petition the court to award child support or amend the custody agreement. The judge will review your case, ask for supporting documentation to show that the cost of supporting the child in general or clothing the child specifically has increased or creates a hardship for you, and enter a decision. New Jersey does have assistance programs if you cannot afford the cost even after adjustment; these programs are designed to provide auxiliary help to parents who are working but struggling to provide for their children.