Parents paying child support with children approaching age 18 and/or graduating from high school should pay close attention to the provisions of their court order(s) relating to child support. Remember, some children graduate early during the traditional school year and some may graduate late after the close of the traditional school year.
Child support may terminate automatically. If the provisions of the court’s order(s) are clear and the termination can be anticipated with clarity, then nothing additional may need to be done. However, if the provisions are not clear as to termination, an additional court order needs to be sought.
If the parent paying child support has been working through a state agency (such as the Clearing House or the Attorney General’s Office) it may be wise to obtain a court order to prevent the continuation of wage withholding and other legal proceedings related to enforcement of child support orders. This is particularly important if the divorce child support order is being enforced from another state through an Office of Recovery Services, the Attorney General’s Office or some similar state or federal office. The paying parent will want a new order to be provided to agencies such as state and federal taxing authorities to prevent their tax refund(s) from being inappropriately intercepted.
When an order is sought, the evidence required to prevail usually includes proof of payment for the obligation period. This element of proof can be substituted with an affidavit from the receiving parent stating that the obligation is current and that no arrearages are owed. To obtain the order terminating the obligation in advance, some courts will accept advance payment for a month or two depending on the circumstances. An attorney should advise you about the best way to handle your particular obligations.