When Does Child Support End in Illinois?

 Posted on April 26, 2022 in Divorce

 Child support payments are an essential resource for divorced or unmarried parents in Illinois. While some people believe that a parent’s moral obligation to help his or her children may last forever, the law in Illinois says that a parent’s financial responsibility to his or her child does eventually end. Parents who are paying or receiving child support may be anxious to know when, exactly, that legal obligation runs out. As with many legal questions, the answer is, “It depends.” 

When Does a Child Become an Adult? 

The law says that children become legal adults, with all the responsibility that adulthood entails, when they are 18. However, a parent’s financial responsibility for a child does not automatically end when their child turns 18. If the child is still in high school, child support payments may continue until the child graduates from high school or turns 19. Furthermore, while some child support orders include a specific date at which child support payments will end, other parents must go to court to request a termination of payments before they can stop. 

Adult Child Support

Like other states, Illinois has legal provisions requiring parents to continue paying child support into adulthood when their child is unable to provide for themselves due to a physical or intellectual disability. Non-minor child support is more flexible in its amount and duration than traditional child support, but courts take non-minor child support obligations just as seriously. Parents may be ordered to indefinitely pay for a disabled adult child’s expenses, including housing, vocational training, medical care, and more. 

Illinois also has a fairly unique law that allows judges to order divorced parents to pay for their child’s post-high school education. This can include college tuition, vocational school fees, room and board, and more. While there are limits to how much parents can be ordered to pay for tuition, and certain actions taken by the child can place limits on how long parents can be ordered to pay for a child’s schooling, educational support for an adult child can be a surprise expense for many parents in Illinois. 

Call an Arlington Heights Child Support Lawyer

The laws around child support in Illinois are more complex than many people anticipate. If you are paying or receiving child support and want to know more about when payments might end for you, schedule a consultation with a knowledgeable Arlington Heights child support lawyer at A. Traub & Associates. We represent clients at every stage of the child support process with skill, knowledge, and an eye towards vigorous protection of parental rights. Call us now at 847-749-4182. 

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=075000050HPt%2E+V&ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=6200000&SeqEnd=8675000