State Law

O?Child Support Legislation

By Ryan

With the prices of goods and fuel rising  and money harder to come by, it should come as no surprise that the Legislature is looking to make some changes to Connecticut’s child support laws.

The Courant ran this article last week about a bill that would lengthen the amount of time that an obligor was required to pay child support to the age of 21.

Presently, the legal obligation to support a child stops generally at the age of 18; or until the minor child attains the age of 19 or completes the 12th grade, whichever occurs first.

A court can also issue and educational support order requiring a parent to provide support for a child or children to attend up to 4 full academic years of an institution of higher education. The educational support order terminates no later than once the minor child attains the age of 23.

I could not find the text of the bill that would raise the age of child support until the age of 21 on the legislature’s website.

The legislature is also considering a bill that would require the child support guidelines to be examined and updated every 2 years instead of every 4 years as presently required.

I’m guessing that reviewing the child support guidelines every 2 years will have the effect of raising the amount of child support paid by obligors. The guidelines look in part at the cost of living in Connecticut. If the cost of living and raising a child increases it figures, that the guideline support amounts will also increase. 

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Get out and enjoy Hartford’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities this weekend, including Saturday’s parade and Sunday’s O’ Hartford 5k.  I’ll be raising a pint after finishing Sunday’s race.

Full post as published by A Connecticut Law Blog on March 14, 2008 (boomark / email).