When does a parent’s child support obligation end in Missouri?

The law pertaining to termination of child support can be complex in its application. This post is an overview of the topic, but it is not offered as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Legal advice should only be obtained from a family law attorney.

We have written in the past about procedures for obtaining a child support order in Missouri and how to modify it if circumstances should change. An important issue for both the recipient and payer of child support is the law that determines when the support obligation ends.

Unless it is terminated by a court order, the legal obligation to pay child support ends when any of the following events occurs:

• The marriage of the child
• The death of the child
• The child entering into active duty with the military
• The relinquishment of control over the child by the custodial parent coupled with the child being self-supporting
• The child attaining the age of 18

The support obligation might continue beyond a child reaching 18 years of age if he or she suffers from a physical or mental disorder that prevents the child from being self-supporting. This provision of the law only applies if the child is unmarried. A court may, under such circumstances, extend the payment of support to meet the person’s financial needs.

Payment of support may also be extended beyond age 18 for a child who is attending secondary school. Once the child completes high school or reaches 21 years of age, whichever occurs first, the support terminates. However, if the child enrolls as a full-time student at a college or vocational school by October 1 of the year in which he or she completes secondary school, child support can be ordered to continue until the child is 21.

It is not enough for a person to just attend college. The statute seeks to avoid a child support dispute by including a provision requiring the child to achieve passing grades in the majority of his or her courses during a semester. If support is terminated because of failing grades, it cannot be reinstated by the child or by the custodial parent.

The law pertaining to termination of child support can be complex in its application. This post is an overview of the topic, but it is not offered as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Legal advice should only be obtained from a family law attorney.