If the child involved in your child support payments becomes emancipated, you are not responsible for continuing to make payments to the other parent. This is known as terminating child support, but it can only be done in very specific situations. You will need to have an attorney to help you figure out how to proceed because not every case will qualify for the termination of child support. Since child support payments can be quite high, it’s in your best interests to have an attorney’s insight into how you can best avoid challenges and ensure that you have the paperwork filed properly.
A Queens terminate child support attorney is the first person you should contact when you have had major changes in your life's circumstances, making it impossible for you to pay child support any more. Both parties maintain a financial responsibility to support their children until those children have reached adulthood; however, there are particular circumstances that may allow you to terminate child support. You will need the help of an experienced attorney to assist you in this process so that you can avoid many common missteps or mistakes that could leave you still responsible for these payments.
Some of the most common problems that can raise concerns between both parties is the termination of child support. A parent is no longer responsible for child support payments referred to as emancipation. Typically, this is associated with the child achieving 21 years of age. However, parties may often refer to age 22 or the completion of college because they may wish to assist with their children's education. This is common in agreements that are put together by the divorcing parties.
A party cannot move child support down on their own after any of the kids turn 21 years old if there are multiple children involved because this is considered self-help and this is not allowed.
The parent instead has to make an application for a modification or termination of child support because of the circumstances. There are situations however, in which a child could become emancipated prior to the age of 21 and this could lead to the termination of child support.
A terminate child support attorney in Queens will be able to answer more of your questions about these issues. If the child refuses to see the parent in question, he or she may be able to cease support payments if the child is of an age he or she can be employed. A court could also declare emancipation if the child has, on their own, terminated the parent-child relationship or if the parent has purposely alienated the child to that point. This could lead to changes in child custody, too.
A child is usually considered emancipated by the courts if they are deliberately seeking to get away from parental control. Spending a summer away from home, living at boarding school or college or having an apartment that a parent is happy to pay for, are typically not considered emancipating events. If the child gets married under age 21 and gets married to someone else under age 21, and you or the former spouse consented to the marriage, the child is un-emancipated and you may still be accountable for child support.
If the marriage happened without consent of the parents and the child has already tried to sever ties with the parent,, then the court may determine that child support can be terminated due to emancipation. If a child is fully self-supported and working full-time, emancipation may be declared as well as children who join the military before reaching age 21. These unique factors need to be discussed directly with a lawyer.