Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: Child Support after age 18

Ending child support for a child

In Virginia child support lasts until age 18 or until age 19 if the child is a full time high school student and living in the mother's house. This usually means child suport ends June when the child graduates high school.

You need to file a motion to terminate child support (usually in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court where the child lives). The child support would then be recalculated based on the remaining number of children eligible for support.

In reality, most mothers won't litigate the issue because the law is clear. Once the motion is filed, the attorneys should confer on the correct number (or if that is the only child for which support applies to terminate it all together).

My suggestion, file your Motion to Amend the prior Order in May. You'll get a date in mid June which is perfect for your purposes. Whenever you get a date the change would be retroactive to the date the Motion was served on her.

Remember support does not terminate by itself or by agreement of the parties. The Court Order is enforeable as long as it's in existence no matter how old the child is.

Whether you need a lawyer to do this is questionable. It is easy enough to accomplish and the law is clear. The law and courts are tricky places however and the mother may take this opportunity to litigate other issues (especially if there are other children left who deserve support - she may not agree on the current income numbers or the adjusted support number). It is always smarter to have a lawyer than not, but what else would you expect a lawyer to say?

Good luck.

Re: Child Support after age 18

Let me add my response to those of Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Hendrickson with the classic cop out: "it depends."

If child support was set for the two children as a single unitary amount, without designation that half was for one child and half for the other, the amount set by the court very well could continue after the older child reaches 18 and is out of high school. If an amount is stated in the order for each child until that child is emancipated, there is a stronger case for the notion that the younger child's support automatically ends with that child's coming of age.

Since under the guidelines the support for one child is greater than one half the support for two children, the right thing to do in either event is to recalculate the support based on the gross incomes of the parents in June, the work related child care expenses, if any, and the cost of health insurance coverage for the remaining child, and have the court either an agreed order for the new support level or allow the parties to put on evidence to set the new level of support.

Re: Child Support after age 18

I disagree with my fellow VSB member, Mr. Kaufman,

in his assertion that "the Court Order is enforceable as long as it's in existence no matter how old the child is".

A court order for support must be legally undergirded so to speak, by an obligation or duty to pay. If that obligation or duty has expired by operation of law or is no longer in effect for other reasons, any arrearages which in theory have accrued under such an order that has not been formally terminated in the court in which it was entered would not be enforceable.