WHEN DOES CHILD SUPPORT END?

While many people assume that child support ends when a child is considered a legal adult at 18, child support in Colorado ends when a child reaches the age of 19. This can be especially confusing for many families because parenting orders typically end at the age of 18 when a child is a legal adult. This also can be confusing because many children are attending college prior to turning 19.  However, in Colorado, the age at which child support ends is 19.

 There are several exceptions to this rule. The first is if your child is married. Regardless of the age of your child, if he or she is married before the age of 19, child support automatically ends when he or she gets married. Another exception is if your child enlists in the military. If your child enlists in the military prior to age 19, that is the day upon which child support is terminated. Lastly, if your child legally emancipates prior to 19, then the child support obligation ends on the day on which the child is emancipated.

 Child support can extend beyond the age of 19 under certain circumstances. Most commonly, if a child has special needs which require direct care beyond a typically developing child at the age of 19, then child support may be extended. Additionally, if your child is still in high school at the age of 19, the child support obligation may also be continued through his or her high school graduation. If you believe that your situation may qualify for extended child support, please contact our office for a free consultation to discuss your specific circumstances.

 It is important to know that child support does not automatically terminate. The obligor (the person paying child support) must file a Notice with the Court to confirm that child support is terminated. If child support is being paid through the Family Support Registry and/or a wage garnishment, you may also need to take additional steps to ensure that the child support obligation does not continue to be directly pulled from your paycheck. It is best to start this process ahead of your child turning 19 because it is generally not an automatic process and can be very slow. For assistance in this process, you can contact our office to ensure that additional payments are withheld after your child turns 19.