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When does child support end?
After a divorce, many decisions need to be made. Parents worry about their children and often are focused on their well-being. Child support tends to be one of the important factors decided on during divorce proceedings. The state of New Jersey has child support laws that look out for the well-being of the child to ensure that their best interests are being taken care of. The needs of the child are put first in these cases.
In New Jersey, there is no approximate age for child support to end. One parent can relieve another parent of their duty to fulfill child support in a written agreement. If the child turns 19 and is financially independent, a parent may ask the court to file papers, making the child emancipated. This will then cause child support to stop.
How are the payments decided?
In order to decide the proper child support that needs to be provided by each parent, New Jersey courts review various factors to decide the best support structure. These factors consist of the financial status of each parent, each party’s work history and each party’s earning capacity. In addition, the income, debt and assets of each parent are considered. This all helps to determine how much each parent can provide for the child. The amount of time the child spends living with each parent is also taken into consideration. These factors take into account how much each parent provides for the child throughout the years and how much they can provide in the future.
Not only do the courts consider the financial status of each parent, but they must examine the well-being of the child. Since the court needs to decide with the best interests of the child in mind, they consider a variety of factors involving the child. This includes the child’s needs, age, health, education and the cost of providing for the child, including daycare. All of these aspects help to decide how much child support is needed to keep a consistent living for a healthy child or to improve their overall well-being.
How is parenting time involved?
When considering the child’s support structure, the court takes into account the parenting time that the child experiences from each parent. This can have a huge impact on their decision. For instance, if a child lives with one parent a majority of the time, this can affect the structure they decide for the child support. Also, if the child has special needs, the court may raise the cost of the child support to fit the higher cost of taking care of the child’s everyday needs.
If parents are able to agree to a shared parenting style, they will need to demonstrate the responsibilities of each parent. Shared parenting is when a child spends 2 or more nights a week or 104 nights per year with the non-custodial parent. This can be a difficult process to maintain since both parents would have to cooperate amicably.
Matters of divorce and family law require the attention and skill of an experienced attorney who will fight for your future. If you need a divorce and family law attorney in Ocean County, New Jersey, contact the Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC today to schedule a consultation.
