Understanding Post-Minority Support In Alabama Law
Many divorced parents look forward to the day that their child graduates from high school, because it means no more arguing with their ex-spouse over child support payments. Once your children reach adulthood, your long, painful breakup with your ex is finally over. Of course, everyone knows that young adults do not become financially independent overnight. You might still be resentful if your adultolescents live in your house and eat your food while your ex doesn’t pay a penny or, by contrast, if your ex bankrolls your kids’ celebutante lifestyle instead of encouraging them to be financially self-supporting, but in either case, the court will tell you that this is your problem to deal with, not the court’s problem. In some cases, though, the court recognizes the parents’ need to support their adult son or daughter financially and awards post-minority support. A Birmingham child support lawyer can answer your questions about post-minority support for young adults with divorced parents.
Post-Minority Support for Disabled Adults Counts as Child Support, Not Alimony
When a child with a disability will require financial support from his or her parents even after reaching adulthood, the court will build post-minority support provisions into the child support order. The guidelines for calculating post-minority support are the same as those for calculating child support for minors, except that, if the beneficiary also receives disability payments from the Social Security Administration, the court may also factor in these benefits when calculating post-minority support. The court most often orders post minority support when a disabled young adult lives with one of his or her parents. Alabama case law has established that post-minority support counts as child support, not alimony.
The Family Court Cannot Force Your Ex-Spouse to Contribute to Your Children’s College Tuition
In 2013, Alabama enacted a law that clearly states that the family courts may not order post-minority support to pay for young adults’ college tuition. If one or both parents want to contribute to the cost of their children’s college education, this is their business and not the courts. The court does not want to hear it if you support your child’s decision to enroll in a private university in another state where he has been accepted, but your ex-spouse refuses to contribute a penny. This year’s freshman class includes many students whose parents cannot contribute any money to their postsecondary educational expenses. Support from parents is just one of many ways that college students can pay their tuition. Many students fund their education through federal financial aid, scholarships, student loans, the student’s own employment income, or some combination thereof. New Orleans, Gulfport, and Biloxi are just a weekend road trip away from Birmingham, and anecdotal evidence suggests that some students have even found their tuition money at the slot machines, the Roulette wheel, and the poker table.
Contact Peeples Law About Divorce for the Parents of Young Adults
A Birmingham family law attorney can help you resolve disputes with your ex-spouse over post-minority support for your adult children. Contact Peeples Law today to schedule a consultation.
Source:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6151229082133749661&q=divorce+Martin&hl=en&as_sdt=4,61,62,64&as_ylo=2013&as_yhi=2023
