Can I Collect Past Due Child Support After My Child Turns 18?
You've been child support but now your child is turning 18. Will you still receive child support beyond the 18th birthday? Each situation is different, but we're here to help.
Child support is designed to make sure children have the funds necessary to ensure their survival and to prevent them from a significant financial unbalance between the two homes. While child support is intended to help provide the funds a child needs, those receiving it may wonder what happens if the child ages out and back payments are still owed. It is essential to speak with a lawyer, as every situation can be different, but there are a few things to expect as the child ages out of needing child support.
When Does Child Support End?
In Alabama, child support continues until the child is 19, which is the age of majority for the state. The non-custodial parent pays child support to the custodial parent, including health care payments, extracurricular activities, and more. There are certain situations where child support can be ended before this time. These include if the child dies, the non-custodial parent obtains custody, or the non-custodial parent loses parental rights.
The end of child support doesn't necessarily mean the end of payments, though. It simply means that the amount of child support owed doesn't continue to increase each month. Instead, past-due payments will continue until the balance is paid in full. Custodial parents owed payments for child support may want to speak with attorneys in Cullman, Alabama, about collecting the money owed.
Can Child Support be Automatically Withdrawn?
Yes. It is possible to have child support payments automatically withdrawn from a paycheck or bank account, especially if the support was ordered through the courts. It can help prevent the payer from getting behind on their payments when it is automatically withdrawn. If someone is already behind, having the payment automatically withdrawn can help them catch back up, so everything is paid in full by the time the child reaches the age of majority.
If the payer refuses to pay child support, the courts can order the funds to be withdrawn from their paycheck to help prevent them from getting any further behind. However, wage garnishment can take some time to set up, so before it is in place, they can end up a few months behind in payments. Depending on how everything is set up, the courts may withdraw a percentage of the amount owed on top of the monthly amount to help them catch up again.
Getting Behind on Payments
The payer can get behind if they go without work for some time, stop making payments, or work at a job where the funds can't be automatically withdrawn, such as if someone is paid in cash for their work. When someone gets behind, they still owe the child support and may be subject to additional penalties. Enforcement actions can be taken if someone willfully avoids paying child support.
Standard enforcement actions include revoking the payer's driver's license or passport, seizing their tax refund, putting a lien on their property, or even sending the payer to jail. It is vital for the payer to understand that all of these enforcement actions can be taken even if they have moved out of the state. These are federal repercussions for non-payment of child support, so they do not apply only if the payer remains in Alabama.
What Happens With Arrears After the Child Turns 18?
Someone who has gotten behind on their child support payments is in arrears. This debt does not disappear once the child reaches the age of majority. Though the amount will not continue to increase after the child turns 19, the payer will still owe the payments they missed. Once the child turns 19, the payer will need to continue making payments until they are caught up again.
If the child support payments are automatically withdrawn from the payer's check or bank account, this can continue after the child support payments have ended. It can continue until all past-due payments are made and the child support is paid in full. The payer will want to make sure the correct amount is withdrawn from their account after child support obligations end, as it may decrease some once they are just paying the past due amount.
Is There a Statute of Limitations?
Alabama has a statute of limitations for collecting child support payments that are past due. A statute of limitations places a time limit on when the custodial parent can collect payments from the non-custodial parent. In Alabama, this is 20 years. The clock starts when the payment is due, so if the payer has missed multiple payments, they will owe each one for 20 years past the date it was due. The custodial parent can request enforcement actions if the payments continue to be past due to make sure they don't run out of time to collect on them.
What Happens if the Child Support is Not Established in Court?
Child support is set through the court when the parents are divorcing or if the custodial parent wants to make sure there is a legal custody order in place. If the parents separated amicably and were not married, though, they may just come to an agreement about how much child support should be paid by the non-custodial parent. If the non-custodial parent stops making child support payments, the custodial parent will need to go to court to have the payments established. At this point, the payer's wages can be garnished, or the recipient can look into other ways to make sure the past-due payments are caught up again.
Dealing with custody issues and child support payments can be complicated, and every situation is unique. Custodial parents who are owed money for child support will still be owed it after the obligation ends, but they may have trouble collecting past-due funds. If this happens, the custodial parent will want to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible. The lawyer can answer any questions, provide more information on enforcement options, and more. Schedule a consultation today to talk to a lawyer about your situation.
