CHILD SUPPORT BEYOND AGE 18
by Attorney Jes Beardreturn to Jes Beard's home page
Though child support obligations generally end when a child reaches age 18, or finishes high school, or even earlier if the child gets married early, this is not always the case. If a child is disabled or incompetent, a court can order child support obligations to continue indefinitely. Grant v. Prograis, unpublished (August 29, 1997, MS Tenn App).
Under Tennessee law parents are financially responsible for the support of their children not only up until age eighteen, but also after age 18 if the children are in high school. If the child turns 18 before finishing high school, but is still in school and making progress toward graduation, then child support obligation will continue until either until either the child graduates or the class of which the child is a member at the time of divorce graduates, whichever occurs first. T.C.A. Sec. 34-11-102(b). If the child has special needs, either through mental retardation, mental illness, or physical handicap or illness, then the child support obligation will generally continue beyond age 18, until the child is able to function independently, meaning in some cases a parent may be required to pay child support literally for decades beyond the 18th birthday. (While this is very rare, it can happen.)
By lowering the age of majority from 21 to 18 years of age, the Tennessee lawmakers completely emancipated the minor from the control of the parents and also relieved the parents of their attendant legal duty to support the child" beyond age 18. Garey v. Garey, 482 S.W.2d 133, 135 (Tenn. 1972). Tennessee's Supreme Court has also ruled that a trial court can require that child support payments beyond what is actually needed or used for the child to instead be paid into a trust account for later educational expenses or other use by the child after the child reached age 18. Quoting the Court now, "When a non-custodial parent has shown normal parental concern for a child, a trust fund may be unnecessary to ensure that his or her feelings are reflected in spending. However, when a non-custodial parent shows a lack of care, the court may step in and require the parent to support his or her child." Nash v. Mulle, 846 S.W.2d 803 at 807 (1993).
*cough cough*
If a child is disabled or incompetent, a court can order child support obligations to continue indefinitely. If the child has special needs, either through mental retardation, mental illness, or physical handicap or illness, then the child support obligation will generally continue beyond age 18, until the child is able to function independently, meaning in some cases a parent may be required to pay child support literally for decades beyond the 18th birthday.
:jaw:
Am I reading this right? Hey Dad comes back down here from Heaven and pay me!!
