Child may be emancipated

[concerned87]

My husband has always paid his child support on time. The child in question is 18 years old. The custody agreement states that the child support should be paid until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school. Whichever comes second. Biomom and child live in a town 8 hours from us. We have recently found out that the child is not in school. She withdrew from school in February. She signed a paper that said she was going to be homeschooled. The school advised my husband that the only reason she signed it was because she was about to be in trouble for not going to school. The child is also pregnant. As soon as biomom found out that the child was pregant, she took her to get whatever government assistance was available to her. Even though the child signed the paperwork that she was being homeschooled, we know that she is not enrolled in any type of homeschooling program. It would seem that the child is emancipated. Either by no longer being in school, or the government recognizing her as an adult. How can child support payments be stopped? We have contacted the district clerk's office and the attorney general. They say we have to prove that the child is not enrolled in a homeschooling program. How do we do this? How can we get this started? Please advise. Thank you so much.

 

[irish223]

My husband has always paid his child support on time. The child in question is 18 years old. The custody agreement states that the child support should be paid until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school. Whichever comes second. Biomom and child live in a town 8 hours from us. We have recently found out that the child is not in school. She withdrew from school in February. She signed a paper that said she was going to be homeschooled. The school advised my husband that the only reason she signed it was because she was about to be in trouble for not going to school. The child is also pregnant. As soon as biomom found out that the child was pregant, she took her to get whatever government assistance was available to her. Even though the child signed the paperwork that she was being homeschooled, we know that she is not enrolled in any type of homeschooling program. It would seem that the child is emancipated. Either by no longer being in school, or the government recognizing her as an adult. How can child support payments be stopped? We have contacted the district clerk's office and the attorney general. They say we have to prove that the child is not enrolled in a homeschooling program. How do we do this? How can we get this started? Please advise. Thank you so much.

Homeschooling is not necessarily a "program". Most often, a parent provides the schooling for the child. You can check for homeschooling requirements in the child's state. Many states and school districts require documentation of the homeschooling plan, and some require the permission of the school district.

If the child is being homeschooled according the state and district guidelines, then the child has not been emancipated.

BTW, you refer to a "BIOMOM". The child only has one mother unless she's been adopted, so the proper term is "mother".

 

[concerned87]

What about the pregnancy?

Thanks for the information. So, if she is not being homeschooled, then is she emancipated? What about the pregnancy? If the government is recognizing her as an adult, by providing benefits to her directly, it sounds like, to use the legal terms, that the disabilities of being a minor have been removed for general purposes. Please advise.

 

[irish223]

If she has dropped out of school, and she is 18, then she may be emancipated. However, your state's law may determine that, and you didn't name her state.

If the school district considers her to be a homeschooler, then that's what she is. I don't know how you can prove otherwise.

Pregnancy does not emancipate a child in any state, as far as I know.

Also, some states require a court order to terminate child support, even in the event that a child is emancipated.

 

[concerned87]

Thanks for your help. When I was advised by the court that we needed to prove she wasn't being homeschooled, I didn't know how this could be proven. I understand that the pregnancy itself doesn't make her emancipated. It just seemed that, if she was receiving the government assistance of an adult, then it could be considered that she didn't have the disabilities of being a minor. We are in the state of Texas. I have located some documents online regarding the motion to have the child support terminated. The last 10 years have not been smooth. The lawyer that we had used for previous concerns is on maternity leave. This custody situation is so complicated, we really didn't want to involve another lawyer. Thanks again for your insight.