Your buddies invite you along on a golf trip, but you can’t afford to go. Your deep-sea fishing boat breaks down, but you can’t pay to get it repaired. You found a great deal on a used Harley-Davidson, but you can’t put down enough cash to ride it off the lot.
When child support payments begin, personal indulgences and splurges typically end. Few people can afford to spend money on themselves or their hobbies when support obligations take such a sizeable chuck out of each paycheck.
So when can you get back to the life you knew and start enjoying a little more financial freedom? When can you expect your child support obligation to end?
According to the Florida Department of Revenue, child support typically ends when the child turns 18. However, this isn’t always the case. You may have to continue to make payments long after that point if any one of the following is true:
- Your child support order clearly states that you must make payments until a later date.
- Your son or daughter has a physical or cognitive disability that requires ongoing financial support.
- Your child is still attending high school but plans to graduate before his or her 19th birthday.
- The child support order is from a state other than Florida and requires payments to continue past age 18.
Another important point to note is that you may be able to obtain a modification and reduce the amount you owe if your life circumstances have significantly changed since the original support order was created. Consult an experienced family law attorney to learn more about modifications or to get help with other support-related concerns.
