O’Roake v. State of Wyoming, ex rel. Dept’ Family Svcs. (Wyoming 2021)

Child support can continue beyond the age of majority if a child is mentally or physically disabled and incapable of self-support. The Department of Family Services filed extend support for a child beyond the age of the child’s majority due to the child’s diagnosis of a metabolic disorder. The court commissioner recommended modifying support, and the district approved the recommendation. The order continued support so long as the child was enrolled as a full-time college student. The father appealed.

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Davis v. Henderson (Mississippi 2020)

A child’s clear and extreme actions may be grounds to end child support. As part of ongoing post-divorce litigation, the father filed a motion to terminate his child support obligation to his oldest child, who refused to have contact with him. In the final order, the chancery court granted the request. The mother appealed the termination of support.

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Lillard v. Lillard (Tennessee 2021)

Child support can continue for beyond the age of 21 for children who are severely disabled; living under parental supervision, which is in the child’s best interests; and the obligor has the financial ability to pay support. The mother petitioned the court to modify child support and declare the child severely disabled. At hearing, the mother testified as to the daughter’s IQ, diagnosis, and her inability to live independently. The daughter hadn’t been able to hold a job, relied on the mother for transportation, and couldn’t manage money. She feared other people and couldn’t remember to perform basic personal care. The father cited her graduation from high school, ability to perform basic household tasks, and competition of a certificate program as reasons to stop support. The district court granted the mother’s motion and set support.

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Morris v. Powell (North Carolina 2020)

Child support does not end until a child is legally emancipated. A seventeen-year-old child moved out of his mother’s home, and the father stopped paying support. The mother filed a petition for contempt and for a judgment on the arrears. The father filed to terminate support as of the date the child moved out, arguing…

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Carlson v. Carlson (Nebraska 2018)

In a divorce, parents may enter into a property settlement agreement (PSA) on all terms, including child support. Once approved, the PSA becomes a judgment, and when construction issues arise, the court must use the four corners of document. During the divorce proceeding, the parents agreed to a term of the PSA that the father…

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Mississippi Dep’t of Human Services v. Porter (Mississippi 2017)

UIFSA does not require an initiating tribunal or registered child support order for a responding tribunal to have subject matter jurisdiction to establish a support order. Additionally, UIFSA calls for the responding state to apply its laws and procedures to the order, including its age of majority. The state of Illinois requested Mississippi’s assistance in…

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Collins v. Mississippi Dep’t of Human Services (Mississippi 2017)

A parent’s obligation to support a child financially does not end even when their relationship has deteriorated due to extreme behavior from the child, especially when the parent also had a role in the decline of the relationship. The mother in this case appealed a child support order obligating her to pay support for her…

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Oster v. Ratliff (Mississippi 2016)

A father argued his two children emancipated for purposes of ending child support because they had moved out of their mother’s home into an apartment and were employed full time. The Court found the children were full-time students, not full-time employees, and depended on their parents for financial support.

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Malone v. Hutchinson-Malone (North Carolina 2016)

The North Carolina child support statutes specifically identify the circumstances under which a child support obligation terminates; however, parents can agree to a duration for the obligation that is more generous, but not more restrictive.

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Brady v. Brady (Kansas 1979)

When a child attains the age of majority, or when a child goes to live with the other parent, or when a child dies, the obligation to pay support for that child should automatically cease and terminate unless an agreement provides otherwise.

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Whisler v. Whisler (Kansas 1984)

Parents cannot legally reduce or terminate a child support obligation by contractual agreement. That right is the child’s and can be reduced or terminated only by court order.

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In re Marriage of Peak (Kansas 1989)

A child support obligation terminates “when a child goes to live with the other parent” is clarified and restricted to situations where a permanent change of residence is involved.

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