Does Changing Your State Residency Affect the Age of Legal Majority for Child Support

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Mississippi.

I divorced in MS in May 2004, where the age of majority is 21 that I am required to pay child support. My ex-wife moved to GA in August 2005 and has lived there ever since. The age of majority in GA is age 18. My son wants to attend college in GA at age 18 and I am willing to pay, but not at the cost of continuing to pay his mom for 3 more years until he reaches MS's age of 21.

When residency changes, does the age of majority change for the children or must they emancipate themselves at 18 although they are legal residents of GA?

Thank you for any information you can provide. I have searched high and low for an example of such a case.

Your son is automatically an adult at 18 in GA as long as he and the CP reside there.

Your obligation to pay child support has nothing to do with the age of majority in MS where the age of majority for several purposes is also 18 (the ability to contract, sue, be a trustee or executor, consent to medical treatment).

What matters is what your divorce decree says about child support.

If your decree says you pay until he is age 21 and in college, then you pay. If you want to change that you will have to file for a change, probably in MS court if you still reside in MS, and it won't be for any state's age of majority.

I suspect that whatever child support you are paying is a darn sight less than the cost of college tuition so you might want to think about letting sleeping dogs lie rather than open up a can of worms that you can't close.

By statute child support goes to 21 in MS.

The exact language is .....will pay until the child reaches the legal age of majority (currently 21)..... My Order has no language about paying child support while a child is in college or living with the CP. My point is that I want to pay for my son's college, but I cannot afford to pay for his college and my Ex-wife's European Vacations until he is 21 years old. I guess I have to pursue my son requesting Emancipation from the CP from the courts of Mississippi; otherwise, no college for him.

Does he qualify for a Pell Grant to help pay for college ? It is based on parents income. If you pay for his college, will he continue to live at home ? He can get a job and work his way through school. It may take longer. But a lot of people do it.

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Quoting MississippiSuperDad

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The exact language is .....will pay until the child reaches the legal age of majority (currently 21)..... My Order has no language about paying child support while a child is in college or living with the CP. My point is that I want to pay for my son's college, but I cannot afford to pay for his college and my Ex-wife's European Vacations until he is 21 years old. I guess I have to pursue my son requesting Emancipation from the CP from the courts of Mississippi; otherwise, no college for him.

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Guess what? The courts in Mississippi cannot grant your son 'emancipation' because he's not a resident of that state.

Have you talked to a lawyer?

We were in a similar situation, where the CS order (and the divorce) originated in a state where CS continues to 21, then we all moved to (two different) states where is goes to 18. When we transferred jurisdiction to the state the kids and I were residents, the other parent tried to change the CS to end at 18. Judge said no way - he was not going to allow forum shopping. There was also a requirement for college, but that's a different story for a different time/thread.

All good info thanks. I am waiting for him to graduate high School here in 5 weeks, and then we can both sit down with a lawyer and he will be well over the age of 18 and can speak for himself as a young adult. I have an intelligent child and he is prepared to execute Plan B, join the military, immediate emancipation !