How to File a Motion to Terminate Child Support in Illinois

To file a motion to terminate child support in Illinois, you submit a written motion in the circuit court that issued your original support order, serve the other parent, and appear at a hearing where the judge signs a new order ending the obligation. Support does not end automatically when your child turns 18 or graduates. Until the court enters that new order and your employer receives a formal notice to stop, the withholding from your paycheck keeps running.¹

When You Can File

Illinois law ends child support at an “emancipating event.” The usual trigger is the child turning 18 and having already graduated from high school. If the child turns 18 while still in high school, support continues until graduation or age 19, whichever comes first. Age 19 is the hard ceiling under Section 505.²

Other qualifying events include the child’s marriage, enlistment in the United States armed forces, or death. A significant change in living arrangements, most often the child moving in with the paying parent full-time, can also justify termination, though with other children still on the order this usually turns into a modification instead.

Two things this motion does not touch. Support for a non-minor child with a disability is governed by Section 513.5 and can continue past the age of majority when the disability arose while the child was still eligible under Section 505 or 513.³ College and vocational school contributions fall under Section 513 and need a separate petition. Ending regular child support does not end either of these.

Arrears also survive. Terminating the order only stops future support. Any past-due balance remains enforceable, and the court order must say so. If the arrearage on the termination date equals at least one month’s worth of support, the amount you had been paying as current support automatically converts into a periodic arrearage payment. Your monthly deduction does not drop to zero; the same dollar figure keeps coming out until the back balance clears.²

What to Gather Before You File

Pull together the original case number, both parents’ full legal names, the child’s full name and date of birth, and the exact date of the emancipating event. If you are filing because the child turned 18 and graduated, the graduation date is the operative date, not the birthday.

You will also want the documents you plan to bring to the hearing: a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate to establish age, and the high school diploma or final transcript to confirm graduation. For a marriage-based filing, bring the marriage certificate. For military enlistment, bring enlistment papers or a DD Form 4.

Completing the Motion

Illinois has approved statewide standardized forms that every circuit court must accept. They live on the Illinois Courts website under the Divorce, Child Support, and Maintenance section of the Circuit Court forms.⁴ Many county clerk sites offer guided interviews that walk you through the paperwork question by question. The core document is usually titled “Motion to Terminate Support.”⁵

On the form, check the box matching your emancipating event. If other children remain on the order, ask the court for an amended support order covering them. Sign under penalty of perjury.

Filing the Motion

File with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county that issued your original support order. E-filing has been mandatory for civil cases in every Illinois circuit court since January 2018, so you will submit through the state’s EFileIL system.⁶

Filing fees vary by county. Some counties charge nothing for child support motions; others charge a modest amount. Ask the clerk before you file. If the fee is a problem, Illinois has a statewide “Application for Waiver of Court Fees” you can submit alongside the motion, and the court decides based on your finances.⁷

Serving the Other Parent

After filing, deliver a copy of the motion and a Notice of Motion stating the hearing date and time to the other parent. This is a motion in an existing case, not a new lawsuit, so you generally do not need a sheriff or private process server. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 11 allows service by mail, personal delivery, or electronic means for documents other than initial process. File a certificate or affidavit of proof of service with the court showing when, how, and where you sent it.

The exception is when the court specifically orders formal service of process, which sometimes happens if the other parent has been out of the case for a long time or is hard to locate. In that situation you use the sheriff or a licensed process server. In a typical termination where both parents have stayed involved, mailing to the last known address and filing proof of the mailing is enough.

The Hearing

You have to attend. Bring the supporting documents you collected: birth certificate and diploma or transcript for age-and-graduation cases, marriage certificate for a marriage-based filing, enlistment papers for military.

Most hearings take only a few minutes. The judge reviews the motion, confirms the documentation, and signs a new order, typically a Uniform Order for Support, setting the date the obligation ended.⁸ That date is usually backdated to the emancipating event itself, not the hearing date.

If the Other Parent Objects

The other parent can appear and contest. Common objections include disputing the graduation date, asserting unpaid arrears, or claiming the child has a disability that warrants continued support under Section 513.5. If there is a factual dispute the judge may take evidence and testimony before ruling. An objection about arrears will not block termination of current support, but it can shape the arrearage payment the judge orders. A disability claim under 513.5 may cause the court to continue the hearing so medical evidence can be presented.

After the Order Is Signed

This is where people get tripped up. Getting the judge’s signature is not the end. Wage withholding does not stop on its own, and enforcement agencies keep working the case until they are told otherwise.

Stopping the Income Withholding

The federal Income Withholding for Support form (IWO) has a specific checkbox for “Termination of IWO.”⁹ In Illinois, the termination notice to your employer can come from the court clerk, from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), or through delivery of a certified copy of the termination order to the employer directly. Until one of those reaches payroll, deductions keep coming out of your check. Follow up with the clerk’s office to confirm the IWO termination went out, and keep a copy of the signed order so you can hand-deliver it to your payroll department if needed.

Notifying HFS

If your case runs through the HFS Division of Child Support Services (a Title IV-D case), HFS will continue enforcement until notified. Call the State Disbursement Unit at 1-877-225-7077 or write to the Division of Child Support Services, and send a file-stamped copy of the termination order. If no arrears are owed and no other children remain on the case, HFS can close it. If arrears remain, HFS keeps collecting on the back balance after current support ends.¹⁰

Delivering the Order to the Other Parent

Send a file-stamped copy of the signed order to the other parent and file a Proof of Delivery with the circuit clerk.⁸ Keep your own copy permanently. Disputes about whether support was properly terminated can surface years later, and the signed order is your proof.

Health Insurance

If your support order required you to carry health insurance for the child, usually enforced through a National Medical Support Notice sent to your employer, that obligation ends with the termination order too. Once your employer has proof the underlying support order is no longer in effect, they must stop withholding any employee contributions for the child’s coverage. Check with HR that the child has been removed from your plan if coverage is no longer required.

1
Illinois Legal Aid Online. Changing or Ending Child Support Payments FAQ
2
Illinois General Assembly. 750 ILCS 5/505 – Child Support; Contempt; Penalties
3
Illinois General Assembly. 750 ILCS 5/513.5 – Support for Non-Minor Children With Disabilities
4
Office of the Illinois Courts. Approved Statewide Forms – Divorce, Child Support, and Maintenance
5
Lake County Circuit Clerk. Motion to Terminate Support
6
Office of the Illinois Courts. Circuit Court E-Filing
7
Office of the Illinois Courts. Approved Statewide Forms – Fee Waiver for Civil Cases
8
Illinois Legal Aid Online. Starting a Case to Change Child Support Payments How-To
9
HFS Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. HFS 3683 – Income Withholding for Support
10
HFS Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Illinois Child Support Forms and Brochures