Child support ensures that children are taken care of. Parents must provide children with resources so that kids may flourish. Child support is a major issue in the United States. Many non-custodial parents have failed to meet their payment obligations. Unfortunately, the failure to make payments leaves children's lives in jeopardy.

If you are responsible for making child support payments, you must ensure that you fully understand this responsibility. One way to do this is to understand what constitutes a valid child support payment. If you do not know what contributions qualify as "support," you may find yourself in a legal quandary. Recently, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that monetary gifts from a non-custodial parent do not count as child support.

This decision stems from a 2008 case. A Summit County man did not pay child support for an entire year. His payments were $12,000 overdue. Nevertheless, the man gave his daughter a gift card and cash totaling $185. In the process of opposing his daughter's adoption by her mother's new spouse, he claimed that the gifts and money constituted support payments.

Nevertheless, the court vehemently opposed the birth father's position. An Ohio judge presiding over the case asked, "Well, if that would be the law, who would make any child support payments?"

The attorney representing the stepfather responded, ""My opinion would be that very few people would be willing to do it."

The presiding judge wrote in a unanimous opinion that these trivial gifts did not constitute child support. Specifically, the contributions were not a form of support because they were not court ordered. As a result, the biological father's consent was not required for the stepfather's adoption. Because he did not meet his child support obligations, he was unable to contest the process.

If you have questions about your child support obligations, you should probably contact an attorney. A lawyer can thoroughly educate you about the system and process.

Source: WKSU News, "Supreme Court says small gifts don't equal child support," Karen Kasler, Jan. 25, 2012