If you can show extreme financial hardship such as the sudden loss of your job or a serious illness, your payments may be reduced to a level that you still can afford. If you are willing to terminate all parental rights, you no longer may be liable to pay child support. However, realize that this means you no longer have a right to visitation or involvement in decisions like choosing schools, living situations and health care.
One myth about child support in Washington is that remarriage means you no longer have to pay support to your ex-spouse. This is not true. Even if you marry a new spouse with kids of his or her own, you must continue to pay child support until one of the five events previously discussed occurs. File the petition for post-secondary support before the support payments under the current order are scheduled to end. To be clear, our firm understands that all parties want what is best for the children.
Call to speak with attorney Molly B. Kenny about length of child support payments. You can also schedule an appointment by filling out the online contact form. Join the Discussion. Child support also continues if the child is deemed mentally or physically disabled and is in need of continued financial support from their parents beyond their 18th birthday.
This situation is typically addressed in a divorce settlement between the parents, but if the disability occurs after the divorce the issue may need to be addressed in court. This type of support can last until the child has finished their post-secondary education or turns 23 years old, whichever comes first.
To learn more about when child support in your situation ends, talk to our office today. It is important to speak with an experienced family law attorney before stopping child support payments in Washington, or else you run the risk of accidentally falling behind in payments when you thought that they were over. They can vote, join the military, and all indulge in most of the things that, legally speaking, make them adults.
In specific situations, however, they retain their dependent status. The most common of these instances involve high school, postsecondary education, or special needs. One situation where support payments go past 18 is when the child is still in high school. For example, if your child turns 18 in February, they may not graduate until June. After a divorce in Washington, parents pay child support until the child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever occurs later.
Another situation where Washington may order child support to continue is in the case of postsecondary education. This covers an array of educational options, including community colleges and four-year universities. Professional training, technical instruction, and vocational training designed to increase future employment prospects also fall into this category. Either parent can file for postsecondary support. Again, whichever happens later. It is possible to address the topic of postsecondary support in the original child support order.
However, if postsecondary support was not addressed in your child support order, you may have to revisit the issue. Both students and parents feel the financial obligation for postsecondary support in Washington.
0コメント