On behalf of Cooper & Tanis, P.C. posted in family law on Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

Colorado children are generally considered to be emancipated when they reach the age of 19. Parents who pay or receive child support payments may want to know how the emancipation of a child before he or she reaches the age of majority may affect those payments.

There are a number of reasons a child of minor age can be emancipated. They may include military service, economic independence, marriage or a total abandonment of their parent’s home.

Parents have a duty to continue to provide support for a child until the child is no longer legally entitled to the support after reaching the age of majority. However, there are reasons for which a parent would still be required to support a child past that age.If an adult child has special needs, the court may require the payment to continue to pay child support. A parent may also be legally obligated to resume child support to a minor child who got married and then got a divorce.

The termination of a parent’s obligation to make child support does not automatically occur when a child is emancipated. A request will have to be submitted to the court to have the payments terminated when a minor child self-emancipates or reaches the age of majority.

Individuals with unresolved child support or any other family legal issues stemming from a divorce should enlist the services of a family law attorney. The attorney may work to obtain fair terms for child support, alimony, property division, and child custody and visitation.