Coming on the heels of the well publicized Canning case in which a high school student sued her parents (who were still married and not divorce or divorcing) for financial support, a proposed bill in the NL legislature would end child support once a child reaches the age of 19. You can read more about the bill at http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202646845925/Bill+Would+End+Child+Support+at+19+But+Allow+Recipient+To+Petition%3Fmcode=0&curindex=0&curpage=ALL
As the article states, child support would end unless the parties previously agreed to an alternate date/age or a judge previously ordered the support continue past the child’s 19th birthday. Absent a predetermined end date, the recipient, whether it be the parent OR the child, could petition the court and ask that support continue.
As a divorce attorney I understand the desire of litigants for clarity and certainty. This bill would provide that. However, in my opinion the age of 19 is largely irrelevant. It is not clear to me why this age was selected as the termination age. n my mind, the current law works when applied properly and correctly places the burden on the parent paying support to seek relief when he or she believes the facts surrounding their child warrant emancipation.
