Stopping child support before the age of 19
Posted on 04. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries in Child Support
As many of the readers of this blog know, the age of majority in Alabama is 19. That means that child support is terminated at that time (there is provision for post minority support for assistance with college that may come up, but that is a separate issue – you can read a post I’ve made about that here).
A reader of this blog recently asked me a very good question: his child was only 18 (so not yet at the age of majority) but the child had joined the military. Does the obligation to pay child support stop under those circumstances?
As I explained in an e-mail to that reader the child support does not automatically stop. However, there is a statute in Alabama that would allow that parent to file a petition with the court and request that the child be declared emancipated, and if granted, the child support would then be terminated.
I explained to the reader that in that situation, my experience with our local judges is that they would grant his request, declare the child emancipated and terminate the child support.