HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT IN TEXAS?

Whether you are just now to the realization that you will have to pay child support or whether you have just been ordered, the fact is that you may be paying this monthly amount for quite some time. The real question is, however, when does your child support obligation end? What if your child moves in with you, what if your child moves out entirely, what if your child gets married before they graduate high school? All questions to be considered when paying monthly child support.

Understand that if nothing out of the ordinary occurs and your child continues to live with the parent receiving the child support, you have a statutory obligation to continue paying your child support. More than likely, you were ordered to pay a certain amount in child support each month due on the first day of each month and every month thereafter. You may have a court order that states the following:

“and a like payment being due and payable on the first day of each month thereafter until the first month following the date of the earliest occurrence of one of the events specified below:

1.the child reaches the age of eighteen years or graduates from high school, whichever occurs later, subject to the provisions for support beyond the age of eighteen years set out below;

2.the child marries;

3.the child dies;

4.the child enlists in the armed forces of the United States and begins active service as defined by section 101 of title 10 of the United States Code; or

5.the child’s disabilities are otherwise removed for general purposes; or If the child is eighteen years of age and has not graduated from high school.