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When parents divorce, the parent who is obligated to pay child support typically must carry this obligation until the child turns 18 years of age, unless the child is still in high school at the time (then, the age is 19). However, most people are aware of the fact that there can be circumstances which alter this standard obligation. For example, if a child becomes “emancipated,” which essentially means legally independent, then the child support obligation will cease, and this can occur prior to 18 years of age. What happens if a child moves out of the custodial parent’s house, but isn’t formally emancipated? This is a trickier question. What if a child moves out of the custodial parent’s house before 18, but the child turns 18 before the payee parent is able to have a support modification request heard by a court? In those instances, is the payee parent entitled to reimbursement for child support?
This issue was addressed in the case of Katzper v. Brody (2019). Let’s look at this case in a bit more detail.
Factual Outline of the Case
The father and mother in this case were married for just two months before dissolution was sought. The mother gave birth to the couple’s only child, a son, after the divorce had been finalized. The father ended up receiving sole legal and primary physical custody of the child, and the mother was required to pay child support. The mother remained up-to-date with her child support payments throughout the duration of the child’s life. At some point, the mother learned that the child had moved out of the father’s house; the child was still 17 years old at the time. Apparently, the child had begun living with friends.
The mother initiated a court action to modify both custody and child support. Before her modification request could be heard by a judge, however, the child turned 18. When the judge initially heard her case, he determined that the case had lost eligibility to be heard because the child turned 18. The mother appealed, arguing that the request for child support modification was still eligible to be heard regardless of the fact that the child turned 18 prior to the hearing.
Ruling & Discussion
The appellate court concurred with the mother’s argument with respect to the child support modification issue. This is a key determination, something which should be recognized throughout the State of Maryland. Simply because a child turns 18 before a child support modification request is heard doesn’t necessarily remove eligibility to be heard; the critical fact is when the request is filed. If the child is under 18 when the request for modification is filed, then the case is still viable, because the requesting parent may still be able to recover some of the support money which was paid after the child became independent. In the Katzper v. Brody case, the child began living independently 7 months before turning 18. So, this means that the mother was still possibly entitled to reimbursement for those 7 months during which she made payments but was waiting for her modification request to be heard.
Contact the Murphy Law Firm for More Information
If you need more information about support for an emancipated or independent child, or another related topic, connect with one of the family law attorneys at the Murphy Law Firm today by calling 240-219-5243.
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