Last updated: May 2007

When does my duty to pay child support end?

Illinois law now requires that child support orders give the specific date when a parent's duty to pay support ends.

If your order does not give a date, you may have to keep paying even though your child has turned 18.  Your safest move is to go back to court and have the order formally terminated. Until then, you risk violating your support order if you stop making payments.

How is the child support end date determined?

Illinois law says generally that support shall continue until the "emancipation" of the child.  Emancipation usually happens when the child turns 18. At that age a child is legally recognized as an adult.

But, emancipation can happen before turning 18 if the child demonstrates a desire to stop relying on a parent's support. A child may be considered emancipated if any of the following happens:

• The child gets married
• The child joins the military
• The child gets a job and becomes self-sufficient
• The child moves out on his/her own and expresses a desire to be independent of his/her parents

Dropping out of school, or having a baby, do not emancipate a child. Those acts do not show a choice to stop relying on a parent's support. Even if your child were to receive public assistance, your obligation to pay support would not necessarily stop.

Can I stop paying child support if my child turns 18 and is still in high school?

Possibly. If a child will still be in high school when they turn 18, the law says that support should be paid until either:

• The child graduates from high school
• The child turns 19

But, if your order clearly says that your child support ends on the child’s 18th birthday, you are entitled to rely on it and stop paying support.

Your ex-spouse could go back to court and ask a judge to extend your child support obligation. If the child is still in high school, that request would almost certainly be granted, since the law specifically wants support to continue until children either graduate or turn 19. 

Can I be ordered to pay child support for an adult child?

Yes. Child support for an adult child is "discretionary," which means that it is up to the judge to decide. There are three situations where the law says support can be ordered after the child turns 18:

• The child is attending high school and has not yet turned 19
• The child is mentally or physically disabled
• The child has educational expenses

Those educational expenses could be for college, or for “professional or other training after graduation from high school.” They could even be for attending high school after age 19.

The law says educational expenses for adult children can be (among other things) “room, board, dues, tuition, transportation, books, fees, registration and application costs, medical expenses including medical insurance, dental expenses, and living expenses during the school year and periods of recess.” Support for adult children can be paid to the child, to either parent, or to the school.

Your income and expenses, as well as the other parent's and your child's, should be taken into consideration. But since support for adult children is not required, judges awarding such support do not have to follow mandatory guidelines that apply to setting support for minor children. That means that if you do have to pay continued support, the amount could be less than what you are paying now.

Can I pay less child support if my duty to support one of my children ended?

Any reduction in child support is a modification that requires a judge's approval. So you can't just reduce the amount you pay on your own.

If there is only one child, or only one child you are left paying support for, then you can just stop paying support on the termination date given in your support order.

If there are two or more children, you have to go back to court to get a judge's permission, and a new child support order, to correctly change the amount you pay. 

Child support orders covering two or more children are usually not broken down into amounts for each child. Instead, they usually just set a single dollar amount to be paid for all the kids combined. In that situation, you cannot decide on your own to pay less for support once one child becomes an adult.  Unless your support order says you can reduce your support, you're required to keep paying until the order is modified.

How do I modify my child support order when my duty to support one of my children ended?

Modifying the order requires going back to court. You have to file a request to modify the child support amount and have a court hearing where you and the other parent both get to present your arguments. If the judge is persuaded that a reduction is necessary, the judge will issue a new child support order.

Even though you will be paying support for one less child, your child support payments may not go down. The support guidelines are based on a percentage of your net income. That amount could be higher if your net income has gone up since the previous support order was made. For example, 28% of net income for 2 children is less than 32% for 3 children. But the dollar amount for 2 children could turn out to be more if your current net income is more than your old net income.

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