Indiana Emancipation

[kidro2]

Greetings,

My son is a full time college student and just turned 21. I asked an attorney friend if there was anything that I needed to do once my son turned 21 in regards to child support and he said no, that emancipation is automatic once the child turns 21.

The court signed agreement that the mother and I have states nothing but this:

1. Blah blah blah support will be increased to x amount.

2. The $x.xx per week payment by Respondent/Father shall be paid to the Petitioner/Mother every two weeks at the Petitioner's home address.

3. That the Respondent/Father is responsible for all reasonable future medical, dental and optical expenses.

Then the signatures at the bottom. This order was filed by us to take support out of the courts because Porter County was a nightmare for 10+ years. The mother actually did the leg work to get the paper drawn up and filed.

My question is this. The mother is now saying that I have to file for emancipation even if he is 21, and in fact that her lawyer told her I was supposed to have filed that weeks before his 21st birthday. He told her that otherwise I should pay support until he is 24. This came as news to me based on the bazillion things I read online and heard from others.

She also said that because there was no "end date" specified on the support agreement, that is why I needed to file for emancipation. I assumed that anything that WASN'T in the court order was assumed under Indiana Support Guidelines.

Am I wrong on this? Was I misled?


Thanks in advance for any advice. My lawyer's office is closed right now and I am stressing.

[LawResearcherMissy]

According to this document, emancipation occurs at the age of 21. This document states:

Age of Emancipation / Age of Majority in Indiana

Indiana Code (IC 31-16-6-6) sets the age of emancipation at 21 years of age.

In Indiana, child support is automatically terminated at age 21, unless the child has been determined to be legally incapacitated or an order for educational support beyond high school is established prior to the child turning 21.

...and here's the relevant section of the Code:

IC 31-16-6-6
Termination or modification of child support; emancipation of child
Sec. 6. (a) The duty to support a child under this chapter ceases when the child becomes twenty-one (21) years of age unless any of the following conditions occurs:
(1) The child is emancipated before becoming twenty-one (21) years of age. In this case the child support, except for the educational needs outlined in section 2(a)(1) of this chapter, terminates at the time of emancipation, although an order for educational needs may continue in effect until further order of the court.
(2) The child is incapacitated. In this case the child support continues during the incapacity or until further order of the court.
(3) The child:
(A) is at least eighteen (18) years of age;
(B) has not attended a secondary school or postsecondary educational institution for the prior four (4) months and is not enrolled in a secondary school or postsecondary educational institution; and
(C) is or is capable of supporting himself or herself through employment.
In this case the child support terminates upon the court's finding that the conditions prescribed in this subdivision exist. However, if the court finds that the conditions set forth in clauses (A) through (C) are met but that the child is only partially supporting or is capable of only partially supporting himself or herself, the court may order that support be modified instead of terminated.
(b) For purposes of determining if a child is emancipated under subsection (a)(1), if the court finds that the child:
(1) has joined the United States armed services;
(2) has married; or
(3) is not under the care or control of:
(A) either parent; or
(B) an individual or agency approved by the court;
the court shall find the child emancipated and terminate the child support.

Typically, 21 is the end of support, unless your support order states otherwise.

Which yours does not appear to do.

Take a deep breath. Calm down. When your attorney's office opens in the morning, call him up and tell him what you just told us. Tell him you want him to tell your ex to knock it off.

[kidro2]

LawResearcherMissy,

I spoke to my attorney today and he echoed what I have assumed to be true and what you and most people believe to be true - I am no longer obligated to pay support and have no obligation to file anything to terminate support.

Of course, she can still take me to court to fight over educational expenses, but I'll fight that battle if/when it happens.

Bottom line, if it is not stated in the agreement, the state guidelines rule.

Thanks for the reply.