Family Law

Father can't reduce child support payments on his own

By Robert M. Kisselburgh, Esq.

Mississippi Supreme Court says child support payment not automatically reduced when one child is emancipated

For parents paying child support for two or more children, you may want to review your divorce decree to see if the decree addresses what happens to the child support payment when the oldest child is emancipated. If your decree does not specify how the child support will be reduced, then you might be headed back to court to seek a reduction.

Here is an example: A Madison, Mississippi couple divorce and have two children--18 and 14 years old. Husband agrees to pay $2,000 a month in child support, but nothing is said in the decree as to the amount of child support when the oldest child is emancipated. [If you are a question regarding when a child is emancipated in Mississippi, click here for my previous post on this subject]. The question is when the oldest child is emancipated, does the husband continue to pay $2,000.00 a month in child support even though there is only one child due support or is the amount of child support reduced? Well, if it is not spelled out in the divorce decree, then you will have to go back to Court to seek a modification or get the Court to approve an agreement between you and your ex-spouse.

Full post as published by Mississippi Family Law Blog on November 28, 2008 (boomark / email).