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Child Support Ends @ 18 or when finishes high school

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tlchance05

Junior Member
Arkansas - We are paying child support according to a North Carolina divorce decree which states, "child support will end when child turns 18 years of age unless child is still in high school at that time, in which case child support will continue until that child stops attending high school, so long as the child is under twenty years of age." My step-son who now lives in MN turned 18 in February 2007 and was due to graduate in June 2007. His grades and attendance precluded him from any chance of graduating in June. Therefore, he completely dropped out of high school in March 2007. We encouraged him to at least get his GED. He started his GED and then dropped out of this program. Therefore, it has been almost three months since he dropped out of high school. Based on the way the divorce decree reads, the fact that he is 18 and quit high school we were no longer required to pay child support. Yesterday, he notified us that he may want to go back to high school next year (we are not even sure if this is possible at this point), regardless, we do not feel we should have to restart paying child support since he quit high school in March after he turned 18 in February thereby, in our oppinion at least, eliminating our legal requirement to continue with child support. Are we legally required to re-start child support if he decides and is actually able to go back to high school after formally dropping out?
 


tlchance05

Junior Member
18 & Quit High School - No court order to stop pmt

The divorce occurred in NC. My step-son's mom moved to GA before he turned 18 and left him with a friend's mom. We live in AR. So no, there was never a court order to stop payment by his mom or his dad. In addition, his father and I made the decision to continue paying his "rent" which was the same amount as the child support we previously had given his mother to the women who he is actually living with (his friend's mother). However, we told him that that money would "end" in August b/c we had provided for his sibling until August after she graduated, so we were trying to be fair even though he dropped out of school after turning 18.
 

MrsK

Senior Member
The divorce occurred in NC. My step-son's mom moved to GA before he turned 18 and left him with a friend's mom. We live in AR. So no, there was never a court order to stop payment by his mom or his dad. In addition, his father and I made the decision to continue paying his "rent" which was the same amount as the child support we previously had given his mother to the women who he is actually living with (his friend's mother). However, we told him that that money would "end" in August b/c we had provided for his sibling until August after she graduated, so we were trying to be fair even though he dropped out of school after turning 18.
Wait, so there was never a court order, or there was never a court order to stop paying?
 

moburkes

Senior Member
The divorce occurred in NC. My step-son's mom moved to GA before he turned 18 and left him with a friend's mom. We live in AR. So no, there was never a court order to stop payment by his mom or his dad. In addition, his father and I made the decision to continue paying his "rent" which was the same amount as the child support we previously had given his mother to the women who he is actually living with (his friend's mother). However, we told him that that money would "end" in August b/c we had provided for his sibling until August after she graduated, so we were trying to be fair even though he dropped out of school after turning 18.
Based on what you've written, your husband has accrued arrearages. Without the court's permission, you stopped paying child support to the person listed in the order. That's contempt.
 

tlchance05

Junior Member
Contempt?

How can it be contempt when the child support order states "until the child reaches 18, or is no longer in high school?" Both of the criteria were met according to the court order. As far as the arrearage, the mother made the family friend guardian of my step-son and the support/rent was paid to the guardian with the mother's full knowledge and consent. So, no, I don't think we are in arrears or contempt. The only question I am seeking an answer to is if after turning 18 my step son formally quit highschool --- started his GED, dropped out of that then announced he may want to go back to high school is he entitled to child support to restart after having turned 18 and formally left high school. This is the question I am seeking an answer to...the arrearage statement and contempt reply is moot, no one involved in this situation is challenging the way the payments were handled post leaving my step-son with a legal guardian. The father and mother are in harmony on how the monthly support was handled and provided to the legal guardian after the mother left the state.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
How can it be contempt when the child support order states "until the child reaches 18, or is no longer in high school?" Both of the criteria were met according to the court order. As far as the arrearage, the mother made the family friend guardian of my step-son and the support/rent was paid to the guardian with the mother's full knowledge and consent. So, no, I don't think we are in arrears or contempt. The only question I am seeking an answer to is if after turning 18 my step son formally quit highschool --- started his GED, dropped out of that then announced he may want to go back to high school is he entitled to child support to restart after having turned 18 and formally left high school. This is the question I am seeking an answer to...the arrearage statement and contempt reply is moot, no one involved in this situation is challenging the way the payments were handled post leaving my step-son with a legal guardian. The father and mother are in harmony on how the monthly support was handled and provided to the legal guardian after the mother left the state.
You have misunderstood the potential problem. Unless your husband is one of those rare people who were able to pay the other parent directly, instead of paying through the CSE, the CSE is going to show him having arrearages until the order is officially terminated.

If he is one of those rare people who was able to pay the mother directly, and everyone is in agreement, then its probably not a problem.

To answer your original question, yes, if he goes back to finish high school, your husband will have to continue support until he graduates or turns 20. You might have had an arguable point if he had been out of school for a whole year, but he wasn't really out of school for even a semester.
 

tlchance05

Junior Member
Reinstate child support

Ok, yes, now I understand. Yes, we have always paid child support directly to the mother. There was never an other entitiy envolved. So, yes, we all agree, so no problem there.

RATS!!!! It is very frustrating, because he has dropped out of school twice, then gone for his GED twice, and is a truency problem and fails everything. His pattern is when it gets difficult and he quits. However, you have answered our question and I thank you for that. I feel it is little less than extortion, laughing at myself because that is a very emotional while perhaps not logical remark, but we have always paid support on time, and to the best of our ability followed the letter of the agreement between us and the childs mother. I will add, the mother is just as fed up with her son as we are as it relates to his failure to engage or even try to engage at something so simple as high school graduation. Again, thanks!!.
 

moburkes

Senior Member
Obviously, he doesn't understand the limitations that he is placing on himself by dropping out. If he has tried a few times, maybe he needs more encouragement, and some counseling, to figure out what his problem is.
 

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