Question:
I have been paying child support for my oldest son who reached the age of emancipation three years ago because the child support modification papers were never filed with the court.
Now my youngest child has reached the age of majority as well, and I want to ensure these child support payments stop.
Can child support be modified retroactively to when my oldest child reached the age of emancipation?
Answer:
This answer only includes general divorce help for men since I am only licensed to practice in Oklahoma and am thus unable to provide any legal advice on divorce on the child support laws in other states.
Under recent Oklahoma case law, the courts have concluded that child support payments will not be reduced upon the oldest child aging out without a motion filed with the court. Once the motion has been filed with the court, a ruling from the court on that motion will relate back to the date the motion was filed.
Therefore, if you had filed your Motion to Modify Support in 2008 there would be no doubt that you would have been entitled to reimbursement of your overpayment. Unfortunately, you did not file the motion at that time.
Therefore, the court may not permit you to recoup your overpayment for the last three years. You will have to argue that it is not just or equitable for you to have paid child support for three years on a child that has reached the age of majority and request reimbursement.
Child Support:
To be on the safe side of things, you should file a Motion to Modify and request an order modifying the child support order to $0.00 as the children have reached the age of majority.
With that motion you may request, although it is not certain that you will receive, reimbursement of the child support you have paid for three years on a child that has reached the age of majority.
Please understand that my opinions are based upon the limited facts that you provided to me. For a more in depth discussion of fathers rights and legal advice on divorce, I urge you to contact a family law attorney
To set up an appointment with a Cordell & Cordell mens divorce attorney, including Brock Ellis, an Associate Attorney in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, office, please contact Cordell & Cordell.
emancipation
I have 2 daugters and they are 21 and 24 and I have been paying child support for years but was unable to pay when they were young so I have a large amount of arrears . I am wondering how the courts will come up with a modification amount . Do they continue to keep the payment the same or will they most likely reduce the payments to the obligated arrears amount only. My current amount is 450.00 a month and 80.00 of that goes towards the arrears , is that most likely going to be the modified amount or will they only lower it by a percentage?