There are a number of ways in which a person can end child support in Arizona. In the majority of cases, the obligation to pay support continues until the child reaches the age when it comes to an end by court order. That time is the last day of the month in which the child turns 18. If the child is still in high school when they turn 18, then child support would continue until the child graduates from high school or turns 19.
For most court orders, the date when support payments may stop is specified in the order at the time the order is made. However, the noncustodial parent still needs to file a petition with the court to report that the child is going to reach the age of 18.
There is an exception in the case of special needs children who cannot support themselves because of a disability and who need more time at home with the financial support of their parents. A local attorney in Arizona would be able to provide more information.
Parents who receive and those who pay child support may look to the Arizona Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) for assistance with all aspects of child support. Among the services offered by the DCSS are help obtaining a child support order, collecting child support from the paying parent and help in establishing paternity if a person is not married to the father of their child.
When Is Child Support Ordered?
In some cases, the duty to pay child support arises from an Arizona divorce, as noted above. Or it may arise from a legal separation. A court may issue a child support order at the end of a paternity suit when the father of a child who is not married to the child’s mother seeks custody or visitation. Or a mother who is not married to her child’s father may ask a court to order the father to pay child support.
Whatever the type of case in which a child support order is made, as noted above a child support order is legally binding on the parent who is ordered to pay support. There are negative consequences and penalties for failing to pay child support when it is ordered by a court in New Jersey.
In Arizona, child support payments are made by a parent who does not have custody to the parent who does have custody. In calculating child support, an Arizona court refers to the Arizona support guidelines, as noted above. A custodial parent does not pay support because it is assumed that they pay financial support for their child as a natural consequence of the fact that the child lives with them.
In making decisions about child support, an Arizona court considers the following factors:
- The child’s best interest standard and what would serve the best interest of the child
- The type of custody arrangement that the parents have, e.g., whether it is joint or sole
- The age of the child or children on whose behalf the support is paid
- The total number of children each of the parents has
- The income of both parents after deductions
- Additional childcare expenses.
In some circumstances, a noncustodial parent may also have to pay retroactive child support in Arizona. For example, the child might have lived with one parent while their divorce was in progress and the parent who did not have custody did not pay any support. If that is the case, a court might order the noncustodial parent to pay child support for this past period of time when the divorce is finalized.
How Is a Child Support Award Enforced?
As noted above, the Arizona DCSS provides services to parents and caretakers who receive child support as well as parents who pay child support. Some of the services include obtaining a child support order, collecting child, medical, and spousal support from parents who are under a court order, and helping unwed parents establish paternity for their child.
Some of the ways in which the DCSS enforces unpaid child support obligations are as follows:
- Withholding a portion of a person’s paycheck
- Holding court hearings for enforcement
- Arrest warrants
- Suspending the driver’s license, occupational license, or recreational license of a person who does not pay court-ordered child support
- Seizing cash or cash-equivalent assets in bank accounts
- Seizing federal or state tax refunds
- Reporting unpaid child support debt to credit reporting agencies
- Placing liens on real and personal property
- Denying a passport application
- Intercepting a person’s lottery winnings.
The DCSS offers other aid to parents in connection with child support as follows:
- Locates parents who have been ordered to pay child support and whose whereabouts may not be known
- Establishes the paternity of a child
- Establishes and enforces child support and medical orders
- Collects support payments for parents to whom support is owed.
How Can I Avoid a Child Support Increase?
If a person is curious as to whether the law entitles them to a change in their child support award, they may want to talk to an Arizona family law attorney to determine what their potential obligation could be.
It is important to note that the Arizona child support guidelines do not automatically adjust an award of child support. A parent who wants an increase or a decrease would have to petition the court to modify their support order. Another possible approach for the two parents is to negotiate an increase or decrease.
A parent who pays child support might benefit from talking about Arizona child support law with an Arizona family law attorney.
How Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
There are some situations in which a person might be able to end their child support obligation. For example, if the child in question should start living with the noncustodial parent, that parent should go to court and ask for a change. They would no longer need to pay child support to the parent who has become the noncustodial parent. This is one of several reasons to close a child support case.
One thing a person does not want to do is to just stop paying child support unless they are confident that, legally, their obligation to pay it has come to an end. They want to go to court and have the court modify the amount of child support they pay or order it to end.
If a person should lose their job and it is beyond their power to land other employment, then they would need to petition the court to modify the child support immediately. The job loss would have to be significant and lasting. For example, the person may have been injured or now suffers from a disability that has a significant effect on their earning capacity. The person would want to seek modification of their child support obligation in this case.
It would be important to act promptly if a change in circumstances makes a person believe that their child support obligation should be modified or ended. If a person delays, the child support obligation would continue and a court might not be able to excuse any debt for past due support payments after the debt is incurred.
Do Child Support Payments End Automatically?
As noted above, even when child support should come to an end because the child in question reaches the age of 18, the parent who pays the support should go to court and file a motion to terminate wage assignment. They should do this sometime within a few months of the date on which the person believes the support should come to an end.
How to Get Child Support Arrears Dismissed
Sometimes, a person may fall behind on their basic child support obligations. If a noncustodial parent who pays child support owes unpaid support when child support ends, they remain responsible for paying off the arrears. The order for the unpaid amount may still be enforced. The debt for past unpaid support is not eliminated.
Under certain limited circumstances, a court might relieve a person of their obligation to pay past-due child support. A person would have to go to court and make a motion to dismiss child support arrears. However, it can be difficult to escape a debt for past due child support.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with Terminating Child Support?
You may have reached the date on which your payment of child support should end. Or, you may want to change the amount because of a change in circumstances. LegalMatch.com can put you in touch with an Arizona child support lawyer who can analyze your case and help you make any changes to your support order that may fit your new life circumstances.
