When a couple divorces, the noncustodial parent is usually required to make child support payments to his or her former spouse to help cover their child’s living costs. These payments are for utilities, housing, food, school supplies, extracurricular activities, and any other personal needs the child has. When a child becomes an adult, it’s expected that he or she can provide these needs for him or herself. But what constitutes an adult in terms of terminating child support payments?
In South Carolina, a child is legally an adult at the age of eighteen. However, under certain circumstances, a child may become emancipated prior to eighteen or require parental support beyond his or her eighteenth birthday. If you have questions about how your child’s pending adulthood will affect your child support obligation or other child support topics, call 843-606-7255 to contact the family attorneys at our firm. We can answer any questions you have about child custody and support laws in South Carolina.
Emancipation and Adulthood
When a child becomes an adult, he or she is considered to be emancipated. For most young adults, this is his or her eighteenth birthday. However, certain other events in a young adult’s life can cause him or her to become emancipated at an earlier or a later age.
- If an adolescent gets married, he or she is considered to be emancipated. Any individual younger than eighteen who wishes to get married in South Carolina must provide his or her parent’s consent to do so. Once the marriage is performed, the parent is no longer required to financially support his or her child.
- Serving in the United States military emancipates a young adult.
- An incorrigible child is any minor who is beyond his or her parents’ control. In South Carolina, an incorrigible child of at least seventeen years of age may become emancipated.
Child Support Beyond Age Eighteen
There are certain circumstances under which a parent can be required to continue making child support payments for an adult child. They are as follows:
- If the child has a significant physical or mental disability that prevents him or her from becoming self-sufficient as an adult, the court may require payment of child support. Sometimes, child support is put into a trust fund for this type of case.
- If the child reaches age eighteen but has not yet graduated from high school, his or her parent may be required to continue paying child support. A parent may be required to pay child support for a child up to nineteen years old if he or she is still in high school.
- The court may request the payment of child support based on any circumstance that the court deems to be exceptional.
Unlike other states, South Carolina does not require parents to cover their child’s college expenses.
Family Attorneys Can Help
For more answers to your child support questions, contact the McGrath Law Firm. The family attorneys at our firm proudly serve families in the Charleston County area and will give your case the care and attention it deserves.