Dear Attorneys,
I have recently finished my divorce from my wife. We came to an agreement that I would pay alimony and also child support for our son. I am going to be making my first payment soon and I was wondering if it is alright for me to use Venmo to pay my alimony/child support. Is this allowed? Is there any reason I shouldn’t use Venmo for these transactions?
Best,
Newly Divorced
Dear Newly Divorced,
We are happy to hear that you reached an agreement in your divorce! We also understand that you want to make sure you are sending your payments in a secure manner. The first thing you should do is reach out to your ex-spouse and see if using Venmo for these payments would work for her as well. If it does, we believe that Venmo is a great option for sending payments of alimony or child support! This “app” has made the transfer of money between people both instantaneous and documented in writing. Both of these characteristics are important as you don’t have to wait for a check to clear, a transfer to process, etc., and, there is a record of it (unlike cash). Also, you can both make your accounts “private,” or at least the transactions, in case you don’t want others to see what you are paying, or if she doesn’t want others to see what she is receiving. Also, you can print out your monthly “statements” from Venmo, just like you can from the bank and if you ever do need proof of timely payments in the future, this is a neat, and easy, record-keeping tactic. We actually encourage our clients to make their payments in this matter because of these reasons. Good luck in the future!
Sincerely,
Wolf & Shore Law Group
*The situations represented in our Dear Attorneys column are entirely fictional and any resemblance to a specific case is unintentional. We cannot, and will not, offer legal advice to anyone who is not a client. However, if you do have questions or concerns, you should contact an attorney at your convenience.