New Jersey law provides that child support in New Jersey or a legal obligation to provide medical support ends when a child turns 19. Child and/or medical support may be allowed to continue until the child reaches the age of 23 if the child is still in high school, attends college, vocational school, or graduate school, or is disabled.
The obligation to pay child support and/or medical support may continue until the child at issue turns 23 if the parents reach an agreement to that effect or if a court grants a petition and orders it.
In addition, if a court finds that the child has a severe physical or mental incapacity that makes the child financially dependent on their parents for support, the court may order child support that continues beyond the time when the child turns 23.
When Is Child Support Ordered?
In some cases, the duty to pay child support arises from a New Jersey 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 New Jersey, child support payments are made by a parent who does not have custody to the parent who does have custody. In calculating child support, a New Jersey court refers to the New Jersey 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, a New Jersey 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 non-custodial parent may also have to pay retroactive child support in New Jersey. 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 non-custodial parent to pay child support for this past period of time when the divorce is finalized.
How Is a Child Support Award Enforced?
The New Jersey Child Support Enforcement Program (CSEP) has the authority to find parents who have been ordered by a court to pay child support. It can also establish a child’s paternity in court and establish and enforce support and medical orders. It can collect support payments from a parent who has been ordered to pay support and turn them over to the parent who receives the support.
Probation is responsible for enforcing child support orders if the person ordered to pay is not doing so.
Some of the ways in which Probation 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 CSEP 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 a New Jersey family law attorney to determine what their potential obligation could be.
It is important to note that the New Jersey child support guidelines do not automatically adjust an award of child support. A parent who wants an increase would have to petition the court to modify their support order with the appropriate Domestic Relations Office in their county. Another possible approach is to negotiate an increase with the paying spouse.
A parent who pays child support might benefit from talking about New Jersey child support law with a New Jersey family law attorney.
How Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
There is a process for ending a person’s child support obligation in New Jersey. 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. If a person has a question about this, they may contact the New Jersey Child Support Enforcement Program or consult a local attorney in New Jersey.
Six months before a child whose custodial parent receives child support turns 19, a Notice of Proposed Child Support Obligation is mailed to both parents. It notifies the parents of the date when child support is set to end. It also includes information on how the custodial parent may request continuation of child support in writing.
It also provides information about how the custodial or non-custodial parent may submit a court order already in place which specifies when support should terminate and how the amount of child support may be modified.
If there is no response to the first notice, a second Notice of Proposed Child Support Obligation Termination is sent out 90 days later. If the custodial parent does not seek an extension of the support, the order of support comes to an end when the child’s 19th birthday arrives. Both parents then receive an updated court order reflecting the change.
This is one way to close a child support case.
Do Child Support Payments End Automatically?
Child support payments end as explained above according to the law and court order. Another option is for the parent who pays support to go to court and ask the court to end the child support for some legally valid reason. The circumstances at the time a person goes to court may have changed in such a way as to indicate that child support is no longer necessary.
How Can I Get Child Support Arrears Dismissed?
Sometimes, a person may fall behind on their basic child support obligations. If a non-custodial 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.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with Terminating Child Support?
If you have concerns about child support, whether you pay it or receive it, you want to talk to a New Jersey child support lawyer. LegalMatch.com can put you together with an experienced lawyer who can analyze your situation, answer your questions, and protect your rights. It is always a good idea to have an experienced lawyer on your side.
