Child support obligations generally end on a child’s 18th birthday. In some cases, they end when the child graduates high school. However, under certain circumstances, parents might be required to continue making payments for their children even when they are no longer considered minors. For example, divorced parents in Illinois can be obligated to create a plan to cover their child’s college education. Additionally, child support obligations can extend beyond that point for several years and might never end in the child’s lifetime if the child has special needs. If you are going through a divorce and your child has disabilities, you should speak with a knowledgeable Kane County, IL child support attorney to understand what sort of obligations you might have and start preparing accordingly.
Paying for Your Adult Child’s College Education
While judges in Illinois cannot tell married parents what to do with their money, they do have the option of ordering divorced parents to help cover the costs of their children’s college or trade school education. Divorce settlements are supposed to ensure that the parents and child can continue enjoying the standard of living they had when the parents were married, and a college education might be included in that standard. However, it is not an obligation, and the judge might decide not to order this.