Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Indiana Blogs -> Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog

Indiana

: Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog

Pending Indiana Legislation - Child Support Duty to End at 19

The Indiana House has a bill ending child support at 19 instead of 21. The abstract seems a radical change:

"Duty to support a child. Provides that the duty to support a child ceases when the child becomes 19 years of age. (Current law provides that the duty to support a child ceases when the child becomes 21 years of age.)"

Actually. the statute only changes the age of 21 to 19 while retaining the obligation to provide for education when there is an order for educational benefits. Rather nice to see the General Assembly make a surgical change change to a statute than a complete overhaul (and leaving us to deal with the overhaul's unintended consequences).

This probably is an overdue change. I do not know how many clients have been surprised (more often unpleasantly) that child support does not end at age 18. Maybe worse, I cannot provide an explanation of why support continues to 21. (I have always assumed the reason being that educational benefits came in after the statute establishing child support ended at 21, and the intent was to support children going to post-secondary schools.)

Full post as published by Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog on February 19, 2010 (boomark / email).