Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri
My husband and his ex were never married, they have a 17 year old daugther who my husband has always paid child support on. She moved in and lived with us for a period of 2-3 months and still paid child support even after asking for abatement because the mother said she did not live with us. She also allowed the daugther to move in with her boyfriend and his parents (the daughter has a 2 1/2 month old daughter with her boyfriend), and my husband still paid child support to the mother. He was told through Child Support Enforcement that it did not matter where the daughter lived that he still had to pay the mother support. The daughter now lives in a house with her boyfriend and their baby. Of course we do not feel that we should have to continue to support the mother because that is what we are doing and have been doing. We cannot afford an attorney. Even his case worker at DFS said it is not fair but those laws are there to protect those that do not receive child support but harm those that actually pay. His daughter has brought up that she wants to file for emancipation but we live in the state of Missouri and from researching it Missouri does not have emancipation available. I don't understand because even the case working for the child support case told my husband the only way to end child support was to have her file for emancipation. I'm assuming they don't know all the laws in the state and are not required to. Is there something we can do legally to stop the child support to the mother. It is garnished every week out of my husbands check so we couldn't just stop paying it even if that was the action we wanted to take; which is is not because then he would be considered in arrears. Please is there a couse of action that we can take to stop the child support and maybe even get back what he has been paying since his daughter has not been living with the mother?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Your husband should either request a modification hearing from the DFS or hire an attorney to take this matter to court. Or, your husband can go to the court house and obtain forms to complete, and file. It is called a Motion to Terminate Child Support. It sounds to me as if the daughter is definitely emancipated under the law, and the social workers have just been giving bad legal advice. They are usually not to be trusted. Good luck.
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