New Jersey Child Support Termination Lawyer

New Jersey law requires both parents to contribute to the financial support of their children until they are emancipated. That said, there is a statutory presumption that a child support obligation terminates automatically when a child reaches 19 years of age unless certain exceptions are made by court orderIf your child is nearing the age when child support will end or their other parent is seeking to extend child support, contact a New Jersey child support termination lawyer to learn more about your legal options. Our child support attorneys can help you understand this process.

Reasons Child Support Can Be Terminated in New Jersey

N.J.S.A. 2A17-56.97 states that child support and medical support obligations are automatically terminated when the child reaches 19 without an order from the court stating otherwise. Support may also be terminated if the child dies, marries, or joins the military. If the child is still in high school or is attending post-secondary education full time, the age of termination may be extended to 23. In many cases, however, the parents will have a written agreement that specifies certain events where a child will be deemed emancipated and any duty to financially support them ends. The Court will enforce these agreements in almost every case.

While child support ends under the Statute no later than 23 unless the parents have agreed otherwise, a parent may request that some other form of financial maintenance for the child continue past 23 if the child suffers from a severe mental or physical incapacity that causes them to be financially dependent on a parent. Importantly, parents who owe back child support will still be obligated to pay that amount even after the ordered support is terminated. An attorney with experience in child support termination can help a parent determine when child support should end or be extended.

How Does Child Support Termination Occur?

In cases where child support is being paid through the State, both parents will receive a Notice of Proposed Child Support Obligation Termination six months before the child reaches the age of 19, containing the official date when support is due to end. The notification also informs each parent on how to provide a written request for child support to continue.

If there is no response 90 days after the initial notification is sent, a second notification will be sent. If there is still no written request for a continuation after that, child support will terminate on the date listed on the notice, and a notice of this termination will be sent to each parent.

If child support is not being paid through the State, no such notice will be sent, and it will be up to the parents to follow whatever they agreed upon. If the parent receiving child support refuses to terminate it, the parent paying it will have to file a motion with the Court to emancipate the child.

Do You Need a Family Law Attorney to Terminate Child Support?

While an attorney is not required to terminate child support in New Jersey, an experienced family law attorney has a very important role in what can be a complicated legal process. They can assist a parent in gathering and presenting evidence in favor of extending child support, such as documentation showing the child is enrolled full-time in college or is financially dependent due to a mental or physical disability. They can also help gather and present evidence in favor of terminating child support, such as proof that the child was emancipated through marriage or military service or otherwise obtaining an independent status of their own.

When the parents are in agreement as to continuing or ending child support, a family law attorney can draft a consent order to be filed with the Court to terminate the support obligation. They can also work with the other parent’s attorney to negotiate disputes about when child support should end.

Contact a New Jersey Child Support Termination Lawyer from Moskowitz Law Group, LLC

While child support automatically terminates at 19 in many cases, not every case features automatic child support termination, and termination can be more complex. Contact a New Jersey child support termination lawyer to learn more about your legal rights in this process and to learn more about the services we can provide to assist you.