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ending child support

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Texaslady99

Junior Member
what is the name of your state? Tx

My cousin is getting ready to end paying child support for his 18 year old twin girls. They will graduate next month. The child support order is standard in that it says support ends when the child turns 18 or graduates high school, which ever comes last. His girls turned 18 two months ago and since they graduate next month his last child support payment will be on May 15.

He's always paid the court directly. He takes a check in every two weeks its logged in the court and sent to the state from there. He mentioned to his ex last week that the support would be ending in May so not to be expecting a check in june.

She had to have known this was coming but regardless she told him he couldn't just stop paying that he had to go to court to stop paying and that she could easily 6 more months out of him before he could get a court date.

The question is since there is no garnishment order because he has always just paid it himself to the court does he have to go to court to stop the support or can he just stop paying when the girls graduate?
 


NotSoNew

Senior Member
no he has to file with the courts to have CS stopped, it can take a few months so he better hop on it!
 

Neal1421

Senior Member
Texaslady99 said:
what is the name of your state? Tx

My cousin is getting ready to end paying child support for his 18 year old twin girls. They will graduate next month. The child support order is standard in that it says support ends when the child turns 18 or graduates high school, which ever comes last. His girls turned 18 two months ago and since they graduate next month his last child support payment will be on May 15.

He's always paid the court directly. He takes a check in every two weeks its logged in the court and sent to the state from there. He mentioned to his ex last week that the support would be ending in May so not to be expecting a check in june.

She had to have known this was coming but regardless she told him he couldn't just stop paying that he had to go to court to stop paying and that she could easily 6 more months out of him before he could get a court date.

The question is since there is no garnishment order because he has always just paid it himself to the court does he have to go to court to stop the support or can he just stop paying when the girls graduate?

He also should have known this was coming and should have filed with the court to have it stopped. Tell him to go to the court today!!!
 

Texaslady99

Junior Member
I agree he should have done something a few months ago but you know how guys can be when they think they KNOW what they are doing?

So if I understand correctly he will have to keep paying and she will get to keep any monies paid to her after the girls graduate until he get to court?

Thanks
 

Neal1421

Senior Member
Texaslady99 said:
I agree he should have done something a few months ago but you know how guys can be when they think they KNOW what they are doing?

So if I understand correctly he will have to keep paying and she will get to keep any monies paid to her after the girls graduate until he get to court?

Thanks
You understand correctly.
 

Texaslady99

Junior Member
then I will tell him to get his but to attorney's office and get it settled. My cousin's a good guy and never really thought, I guess that she would fight the ending of the support since the girls were graduating. He's always paid more than he was supposed to, always upped his support on his own(I always thought he was crazy, but he always made good money and could afford do it).

He can afford to pay an attorney to get this done, he just didn't think he had too or that she was get this ballistic over it.

But then again she's been able to be at home with their girls because of his support and now she will actually have to go back to work. Sooo anyway that's neither here nor there I suppose. I will tell him to get off his duff and go see a lawyer today if possible!!!

Thanks!
 

kat1963

Senior Member
Since he is not under a garnishment order & unless there are younger children, please explain why he would have make changes to the current court order (which clearly states when CS terminates).
Is this something with new Texas law?
KAT
 
E

eme76

Guest
kat1963 said:
Since he is not under a garnishment order & unless there are younger children, please explain why he would have make changes to the current court order (which clearly states when CS terminates).
Is this something with new Texas law?
KAT

thank you
i was going to ask that too:eek:

is there something i am missing?
 

Texaslady99

Junior Member
there are no younger children. They separated when the girls were 5 years old. She filed stating irreconcilable differences. He fought the divorce for close to two years but in the end agreed to it and has spent as much time as he could with his girls. Neither of them has ever remarried.

So now I am confused? Which is it? Does he need an attorney or not? Or should I just tell him to consult an attorney anyway just to cover all the bases?
 

ceara19

Senior Member
kat1963 said:
Since he is not under a garnishment order & unless there are younger children, please explain why he would have make changes to the current court order (which clearly states when CS terminates).
Is this something with new Texas law?
KAT
Once dad pays the CS for the ENTIRE MONTH, it's done and over with. There's no need for him to file anything with the court. If mom thinks that dad still owes CS, SHE would have to file with the court. But she'd be wasting her time.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
kat1963 said:
Since he is not under a garnishment order & unless there are younger children, please explain why he would have make changes to the current court order (which clearly states when CS terminates).
Is this something with new Texas law?
KAT
Because the state is tracking his payments. If he stops paying without an order to terminate CS they are going to be racking up arrearages. I have seen a few states where the system has been on top of things enough that the system itself shows child support as ended when the court order states that its ended.....but I don't recall TX being one of those states.

Therefore he really needs to get an order to terminate child support. It will be a lot less messy to do it now rather than duke it out later.
 

ceara19

Senior Member
LdiJ said:
Because the state is tracking his payments. If he stops paying without an order to terminate CS they are going to be racking up arrearages. I have seen a few states where the system has been on top of things enough that the system itself shows child support as ended when the court order states that its ended.....but I don't recall TX being one of those states.

Therefore he really needs to get an order to terminate child support. It will be a lot less messy to do it now rather than duke it out later.
Child support orders in Texas have a definitive end date. The states tracking system won't automatically show that a person is in arrears once the child/ren turn 18 (even when they are still in school). If the child is still in school after the 18th birthday, the information has to be input manually at SDU. Since the children are already over 18 years old, if mom trys to take action to continue collecting support, the system will show that dad is actually AHEAD in CS (since the system stopped counting at 18). A letter to whomever the CS is sent to (SDU, OAG or the court) should be sent from dad so that the case can be purged from the system.
 
ceara is correct. Currently, TX support orders specify dates and $amounts that support obligations decrease and terminate. If he is current on his support and is paying directly, that's it.

OP's cousin should STOP PAYING when he makes the last payment in May, the month which the children graduate.

If there was an Order Of Garnishment in place, THEN he would obtain a writ to stop the garnishment.

He doesn't need an att'y. Let her try to obtain a writ of garnishment -- that's not going to happen. Good luck.
 

Texaslady99

Junior Member
thanks

Thanks so much for all the information. My Cuz says he going to go ahead and consult with an attorney in the area just to be on the safe side. He feels like he should be able to just stop paying but it wouldn't hurt to get that from an attorney in the area.

But I have learned alot for future reference!!!

Thanks Again!!!!

You all are great!!!
 

ceara19

Senior Member
Texaslady99 said:
Thanks so much for all the information. My Cuz says he going to go ahead and consult with an attorney in the area just to be on the safe side. He feels like he should be able to just stop paying but it wouldn't hurt to get that from an attorney in the area.

But I have learned alot for future reference!!!

Thanks Again!!!!

You all are great!!!
Just tell him to make sure he goes to a WELL RESPECTED attorney. Because of the fact that your cousin can do some things just as a precaution (like sending a letter to the collecting agency notifying them that the child has aged out of the agreement) some lawyers could see him as "easy money" and end up doing unecessary work for a quick buck. ;)
 
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