In Connecticut, child support ends when the child turns 18. If the child is still an unmarried full-time high school student at that point, the obligation continues until graduation or the child’s 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Two things can push the end date much further: a qualifying disability can extend support to age 21 or 26 depending on when the order was entered, and a court-ordered contribution to college costs can run until age 23. When does child support end in CT in your particular case depends on the age of your child, the wording of your decree, and whether anyone filed the right motion at the right time.
The Default Rule: 18, or High School Graduation
Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-84 sets the baseline. A parent’s duty to support a minor child ends at age 18. The one automatic extension is for a child who is unmarried and enrolled full-time in high school when they turn 18; in that situation support continues until the child completes twelfth grade or turns 19, whichever comes first.1Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-84 – Parents’ Obligation for Maintenance of Minor Child. Order for Health Insurance Coverage
So a senior who turns 18 in February keeps receiving support through June graduation. A student who was held back and will not finish high school before turning 19 loses support at the 19th birthday, even if the diploma is weeks away. The high school extension applies only to decrees entered on or after July 1, 1994.1Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-84 – Parents’ Obligation for Maintenance of Minor Child. Order for Health Insurance Coverage
When Support Ends Before 18
Two events cut the obligation short. The first is legal emancipation. A minor who is at least 16 can petition a Connecticut court for emancipation, and the recognized grounds include marriage, active military service, living independently and managing their own finances, or a court finding that emancipation serves the child’s best interests. Once granted, emancipation relieves both parents of the duty to support, care for, and control the child.2Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-150 – Emancipation of Minor3Connecticut General Assembly. Emancipation Procedures The second is the child’s death.
Neither event lets a paying parent simply stop writing checks. The order remains in force until a court terminates it. More on that step below.
Support for a Disabled Adult Child
Connecticut law allows courts to extend child support past the usual cutoff for an adult child with an intellectual, mental, or physical disability, so long as the child lives with a parent and depends primarily on that parent for day-to-day support. How far the obligation can run depends on when the divorce decree or initial support order was entered:1Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-84 – Parents’ Obligation for Maintenance of Minor Child. Order for Health Insurance Coverage
- Orders entered October 1, 1997 through September 30, 2023: support can continue until the child turns 21.
- Orders entered on or after October 1, 2023: support can continue until the child turns 26.
Connecticut’s standard child support guidelines do not apply to these disability-related orders. The court sets whatever amount it considers appropriate for the family’s circumstances.1Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-84 – Parents’ Obligation for Maintenance of Minor Child. Order for Health Insurance Coverage
College: Educational Support Orders to Age 23
Connecticut is one of the few states that can require a divorced parent to help pay for college. These educational support orders live in a separate statute, § 46b-56c, and operate independently from the regular child support obligation. An order can cover up to four full academic years and must end no later than the child’s 23rd birthday.4Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-56c – Educational Support Orders
Ask for It at Divorce or Lose the Right
This is where parents most often get caught out. A request for an educational support order must be made when the divorce decree is entered. If nobody asks for it then, the court cannot enter one later unless the decree explicitly reserves the right for either parent to come back and seek one. The court is required to warn both parents about the deadline during the divorce proceeding. If your decree is silent and no request was made at the time, the window is closed for good.4Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-56c – Educational Support Orders
The Intact Family Test
Even a timely request has to clear a threshold finding. The court must determine that the parents more likely than not would have helped pay for college had the family stayed together. Only after that finding does the court weigh the usual factors:4Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-56c – Educational Support Orders
- Each parent’s income, assets, and obligations to other dependents.
- The child’s own assets and ability to earn income.
- Grants, loans, and scholarships available from other sources.
- Reasonableness of the chosen school, measured against the child’s academic record and the family’s resources.
- The child’s preparation, aptitude, and commitment to higher education.
- Any evidence of a specific institution the child plans to attend.
What an Order Can Cover: The UConn Cap
An educational support order can cover tuition, fees, room, board, registration costs, application fees, books, and dues. Total expenses are capped at the amount the University of Connecticut charges a full-time, in-state student at the time the child starts school. Parents can agree to a higher figure, but a court cannot impose one over a parent’s objection.4Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-56c – Educational Support Orders
What the Student Has to Do
Payments are not unconditional. To keep receiving them, the student must enroll in an accredited institution, carry at least a half-time course load, maintain good academic standing, and share academic records with both parents. Fall short of any of these and the court can suspend the order for that academic period.4Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-56c – Educational Support Orders
How to Actually Stop the Payments
Reaching the termination date does not flip an automatic switch. If support is collected through wage withholding, the deductions keep coming out of your paycheck until a court order stops them. You need to file a motion with the Connecticut family court asking to terminate the order, documenting the qualifying event — the child turning 18, graduating from high school, aging out of a disability-related extension, or completing the terms of an educational support order.
Keep paying every installment until the court signs the termination. Stopping on your own, even when you are confident the obligation has ended, can expose you to a contempt finding. Once the motion is granted, the court will stop the wage withholding and formally end the order.
Military Pay and DFAS
If child support is deducted from military pay through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, there is an extra step. When the withholding was set up through a child support enforcement agency, you contact that agency and have it send a termination order directly to DFAS. DFAS will not stop deductions on its own, because most withholding orders tell it to continue “until further order.” If your underlying court order spells out a termination condition such as the child turning 18 and graduating, DFAS will need proof, like a graduation program listing the child’s name or a letter from the school confirming graduation.5Defense Finance and Accounting Service. How to Stop Child Support or Alimony Payments
If Someone Has Moved Out of State
Under federal law, the state that originally issued the support order keeps exclusive authority over it as long as the child or at least one parent still lives in that state. Another state can take over only after everyone has left the issuing state.6Administration for Children and Families. Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (IM-95-03A) If your order came out of a Connecticut court and either parent or the child still lives in Connecticut, your termination motion goes to Connecticut no matter where you now live.
Unpaid Support Does Not End With the Order
Ending the current obligation does not erase arrears. Past-due child support remains a legally enforceable debt regardless of the child’s age, and both federal and Connecticut enforcement tools keep running against it.
The federal Treasury Offset Program intercepts tax refunds and other federal payments to collect delinquent child support, recovering more than $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2024.7Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Treasury Offset Program Owe $2,500 or more in past-due support and the federal government can deny, revoke, or restrict your passport.8The Administration for Children and Families. Passport Denial Program 101 Connecticut can suspend your driver’s license, professional licenses, and recreational permits if you fall more than 90 days behind or fail to comply with a court order to provide health insurance for the child.9Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-220 – Suspension of License of Delinquent Child Support Obligor State agencies also run quarterly matches against bank and credit union accounts, then place liens or seize funds.10Office of Child Support Enforcement. Financial Institution Data Match Overview File the motion to end the current order on time, and keep paying anything still owed on the arrears.