Terminating Child Support in Texas: When Can I Stop Paying?

Under Texas Family Code 154.001, parents are required to pay child support until one of the following occurs:

* the child turns 18 or graduates high school whichever comes later; or
* the child is emancipated through marriage, through the removal of disabilities of minority by court order, or by other operation of law; or
* the child dies.
The first and the third elements are self-explanatory, but what does No. 2 mean? We will explain these exceptions further below

If your child becomes emancipated – meaning he or she can manage their own affairs and is self-supporting – then you can legally terminate child support obligations. A child becomes legally emancipated before age 18 if he or she:
* Gets married;
* Joins the U.S. military; or
* Successfully petitions the court to be free of parental control (a judge issues an order permitting the child to have the same rights as an adult.)

In any of these instances, the court will require proof before terminating child support obligations. You can’t just stop paying; you must file a petition to terminate child support.

Yes, if a child has a physical or mental disability that requires substantial care and supervision – and the disability exited before they turned 18 – a court can order parents to provide indefinite support.

No, child support is not automatically terminated when a child turns 18, graduates from high school, or qualifies for an early exception. The termination needs to be done legally to stop the income withholding. To do this, you or an attorney will need to file a Motion to Terminate Withholding for Child Support in the court that issued the original family court orders. A hearing will be scheduled, where the judge will review the petition and, if everything is in order, will sign an order terminating child support.

If you owe back child support, the court will probably order the arrears to be paid before they will consider signing an order terminating child support. Once again, a hearing will be scheduled, and the judge will review the evidence before making a decision.

A Texas court may reduce child support in Texas for the period of time that the parents live together, and the parent who owes child support ends up paying for expenses and household bills.