Child support in Rhode Island should be paid until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, which comes later. A court may require a noncustodial parent to pay support for an extended period of time if there are special circumstances. Of course, if the child has special needs, the obligation to support the child financially may continue throughout the child’s life.
The order that a court issues requiring child support payments may state a different date when the paying parent may stop child support. If that is the case, the court order determines what should happen. A person should obey a court order. A local attorney in Rhode Island would be able to analyze a person’s unique situation and advise them.
What a person should not do is stop making child support payments without a court order that authorizes them to stop paying. If a person makes their child support payments directly to the other parent and the court states an end date, a person may simply stop paying until the stated date arrives.
If a person believes that their child support order should be modified, for example, because circumstances have changed, they must first go to court to request modification of the court order.
Or, if a person believes that the facts of their situation justify terminating their child support obligation, e.g., because the child now lives with the parent paying the support to the other, they too need to go to court to settle the issue.
When Is Child Support Ordered?
In some cases, the duty to pay child support arises from a Rhode Island 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 a court in Rhode Island orders it.
In Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island court refers to the state’s support guidelines. 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 child living with them.
In making decisions about child support, a Rhode Island 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 each parent
- Additional childcare expenses, e.g., the cost of health insurance.
In some circumstances, a noncustodial parent may also have to pay retroactive child support in Rhode Island. 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, when the divorce is finalized, a court might order the noncustodial parent to pay child support for this past period of time.
How Is a Child Support Award Enforced?
Federal law requires that all states have a program to enforce child support obligations.
The Rhode Island Child Support Agency Program is the enforcement agency in Rhode Island.
The agency offers a range of services to custodial parents who need child support, as follows:
- The state can locate parents whose whereabouts are unknown.
- The state can help establish paternity.
- The state can help a custodial parent obtain child support in court.
- The state enforces existing support orders by collecting support and distributing it to the parent to whom it is owed.
The agency usually begins with letters to the paying parent in an attempt to collect past-due support before any other enforcement actions begin. If this effort is not successful, other measures used to collect child support owed are as follows:
- Charging interest on support payments that are past due
- Increasing the amount that the agency withholds from a person’s paycheck
- Setting up a payment plan
- Intercepting federal and state tax refunds
- Intercepting winnings from sports betting
- Suspending licenses, including driver’s licenses, professional licenses and occupational licenses
- Denying loans, grants, or passports
- Reporting delinquencies to credit reporting agencies
- Placing liens on property.
How Can I Avoid a Child Support Increase?
A person may be curious as to whether the law entitles them to a change in their child support award. If this is the case, they may want to talk to a Rhode Island family law attorney to determine what their potential obligation could be.
It is important to note that Rhode Island 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. The parent who wants to change the amount would have to prove that there has been a material change in circumstances that would justify any change.
Another possible approach is for the 2 parents to negotiate an increase or decrease.
How Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
In some situations, a person might be able to end their child support obligation and get a court to order it. 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.
Generally, in Rhode Island, a child support obligation terminates if any of the following events take place:
- The child passes away.
- The child is legally emancipated.
- A court terminates a parent’s rights.
- The child becomes self-supporting, and the custodial parent relinquishes parental control.
- The child reaches the age of 18 or 19 if the child is still in high school when they turn 18.
Rhode Island law allows child support payments to continue until the child graduates from high school.
The unemployment of the parent who pays child support might justify ending the support obligation under some circumstances. If a person should lose their job and it is beyond their power to land other employment, 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 significantly affecting their earning capacity. The person would want to seek modification of their child support obligation in this case.
Do Child Support Payments End Automatically?
Child support payments generally continue until a court orders it to stop. An end date may be included in an original child support order. If an end date is not specified, then a court would order support payments to end only if one or both of the parents involved requests it.
The support payments may also come to an end if the requirement to make them in the order is met (for instance, if the court order specifies that support should continue only until some event takes place like the child graduating from high school).
How To Get Child Support Arrears Dismissed?
Sometimes, a person may fall behind on their basic child support obligation. 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. It is unlikely that a person would be able to get child support arrears dismissed.
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, escaping a debt for past due child support can be difficult. In fact, even if a paying parent passes away, if they have past-due child support, it must be paid from their estate.
If a person’s circumstances have changed and they have a legitimate reason for which they cannot pay child support, they should go to court and ask to have the amount of the support they pay reduced.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help With Terminating Child Support?
You could be a paying parent in Rhode Island who believes that you qualify to stop paying child support, or you want to determine your eligibility to stop. If that is the case, you should reach out to a Rhode Island child support lawyer as soon as possible. If your attorney determines that you are eligible, they can file a petition with the proper court and ask for termination of your child support obligation.
LegalMatch.com is an easy and hassle-free way to find lawyers near you who are ready to help you with any child support question you may have. It is free to submit your issue on the website, and you will receive responses from member lawyers in your area who are licensed, pre-screened, and practice in the area of law you need.
