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Duration of Child Support |
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Child support should terminate at the age your child is considered emancipated under your state's laws. In some states, that means age 18; in others, age 21. |
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Other events can terminate child support as well: the child's entry into the military or assumption of full-time employment, or marriage before the age of emancipation. If the child moves in with the noncustodial parent on a permanent basis, child support should stop. (You may want to negotiate a sum the former custodial parent will have to pay in that case.) |
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In some states, your child's right to obtain support from you continues after your death; that is, your estate is liable for the court-ordered payments made before your death. Your estate becomes a party in the action where your support obligation was ordered and it can be enforced or modified just as it could have been before your death. In some jurisdictions, it is insufficient that you and your spouse agree to a modification of child support. You must go to court to obtain an order modifying the amount of support. Otherwise, your support obligation continues to accrue and is enforceable as any other judgment, even though your child may be living with you. Get an order modifying support even if you and your spouse have agreed. |
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If you and your spouse agree, child support can extend beyond the age of emancipation. For example, if in your state the emancipation age is 18, but you want your spouse to continue to pay child support until your child graduates from college, you would try to negotiate a provision stating that child support continue for as long as the child is a full-time undergraduate student, but in no event beyond the age of 21. |
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What Should the Child Support Figure Be? |
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How do you go about determining exactly how much child support you should pay or receive? |
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First, before you even begin your calculations, bear in mind that child support payments cannot be deducted on your taxes unless you and your spouse agree otherwise and write that into the settlement agreement. Therefore, under most circumstances, you will have to earn, on average, from $115 to $140 (depending on your tax bracket) to be able to pay $100 in child support. By the same token, the parent who receives child support does not have to pay taxes on it, so he or she is getting the full amount paid. |
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To ascertain a fair amount of child support without using your state's formula, it is best to figure out a monthly budget for the children. Household expenses, such as rent, food, mortgage, and utilities can be allocated one-half to the children, one-half to the parent, or allocated one part each among all the children in the household and the parent. Clothing costs for the year should be added up and divided by 12, as should camp, |
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