Child Support Obligations: When Should They End?
If you are the parent of a minor child, child support is almost inevitable. It is not the parent who requests it or sets the amounts, however. Both the state and the federal government take the child support issue very seriously and they oversee the guidelines on behalf of the minor child. Whether you are the parent paying the child support or the receiving parent, you might wonder when the obligation will end. To gain a better understanding of how things work, read on.
Review Your Orders
As your divorce becomes final, temporary orders turn into permanent ones. Child support orders usually specify the time period covered and it's not always when the child reaches age 18. Different states have different ages of majority (some use age 19, for example) but that is not the only thing to watch out for. Take a look at some common situations that could trigger an ending to child support payments:
- The child gets married
- The child passes away
- The child becomes emancipated. Emancipation is a legal severing of ties between the child and the parents. While uncommon, it can happen if the child, usually a teenager, is refusing any support. If the teenager is wealthy, for example, they might want full control over their financial situations. In other situations, the parent-child relationship has broken down completely
- The child joins the armed forces (automatic emancipation)
- The child graduates high school and has reached the age of majority. Many children have an 18th birthday while still attending high school and that places an undue financial burden on one parent for a child that is still living at home and needs financial help
The orders might specify that child support end when the child begins college. However, it is not uncommon for child support to be continued while the child attends college and up to the age of 25 or so. If you want your child to be covered with child support after the age of majority, be sure that provision is entered into the final divorce decree.
In most cases, child support provisions can be altered if one party can show a need and it doesn't harm the welfare of the child. Parents should be cautioned not to stop support payments unless they are certain the time is right. If you have questions about child support, speak to a family attorney to find out more.