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WHat does the law enforce with child support after 18? The child is now 18 and only taking 2 courses in school as well there has never been a court order or have had FRO involved. It has always been mutually agreed upon. The child could graduate, but the mom has forced him to go back as she says that child support is mandatory. If I stopped would she take me to court or would the child.
What State are you in? It is unlikely that the mother can come after you if the child is over 18 and graduated High School.
The "age of majority" is the legal age established under state law at which an individual is no longer a minor and, as a young adult, has the right and responsibility to make certain legal choices that adults make. Thus, when people use the term age of majority, they are generally referring to when a young person reaches the age where one is considered to be an adult.
In some US states, child support stops when a child is 18 or graduates from high school, in others, it stops at 21. The majority of states use 18 as the age of majority (in cases where the youth is still in high school the age of majority may extend beyond 18).
States may also order support while a child is in college, or if the child is disabled.
If your case is not Court Ordered, I would take the following option:
Cease all payments to the child's parent and instead, help the child with any reasonable expenses that are needed to further their education.
This post is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
No one had mentioned age of majority. Also there are no states that allow child support to stop simply because a child has graduated High School. If the child is not 18 then it will continue until they are. Also some states go beyond the 21 year rule and as high as 23.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThinkSpace
Please be more careful when posting in the legal threads. Thanks.
Just to clear up a few things:Quote:
Originally Posted by cdad
1. The age of majority is what US States refer to when referring to Child Support cases, so that is a highly relevant piece of information for the poster.
2. The text should have read: "In some US states, child support stops when a child is 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, and in others, it stops at 21." Such as: MCA 40-4-208(5); 40-5-201(2) and RSA 461-A:14.
This is also enforced with another statement that: "... (in cases where the youth is still in high school the age of majority may extend beyond 18)."
3. I never said there was a cap placed at the age of 21. As an example, 16 V.I.C. Sec 341(g) states that support may be continued up until the age of 22 if the child is enrolled and attending an accredited college or university on a full time basis. This clearly bypasses the age of 21 and I am well aware of its existence.
4. You have also seemed to neglect that the OP clearly stated that "...there has never been a court order or have had FRO involved."
Unless there was a binding agreement made of the Court, then there is no legal recourse at current until an official order is placed with the Courts. If one is filed now, the Courts may choose to seek a Retroactive Child Support case; however, depending on the amount of records the OP was keeping, any retroactive payments could be negated by the fact that money has already been paid to the custodial parent before a court order was ever placed. In any case, the courts are more likely to order you to pay retroactive child support if it is shown that you knew or should have known you had an obligation to support the child but did not.
I am in canada. Ontario
Until the OP tells where he is located, there is no reason to speculate what laws apply. Trying to be specific at this point is pointless.
Few states allow retroactive support prior to the time of filing. But many states will not count voluntary payments as support but rather as gifts.
So the bottom line here is lets wait until the OP tells us where they are so we can determine what laws applies.
Ontario, Canada
The law says that support continues until 18 but can continue after that if the child is a full time student:
How long does child support continue? | CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario / Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario)
That site has a lot of good info about child support in Ontario.
The only question I have is whether the support agreement was ever put in writing.
The court can order retroactive support, but I think, if you can prove you have been paying all along, they won't.
ScottGem has a good link.
Also consider that R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.) states that -
“age of majority”, in respect of a child, means the age of majority as determined by the laws of the province where the child ordinarily resides, or, if the child ordinarily resides outside of Canada, eighteen years of age.
The age of Majority for Ontario is 18.
You seem hung up on age of majority. The site I linked to, which is a government site, was clear on when support ends. It doesn't mention majority.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThinkSpace
OP said the child is only taking two courses. I suspect this not constitute being a "full time student", so it would make it even less likely that a court would enter a child support order for a child over the age of majority.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottGem
That's the way I see it. If I were the OP, I'd send the mother a letter with a link to the cite I gave him. Tell her he's ceasing paying support immediately. Send another letter to the child, offering to help him directly if needed.Quote:
Originally Posted by AK lawyer
If the mother takes him to court, I think he will win.
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