Q: Ex stopped paying child support because he had one and I had one. His is 19 and out of his house. Mine is 17.
We had five. When third turned 18 he stopped support because he had one and I had one. Now I am only one with dependent child. Can I get support?
A: Massachusetts child support laws allow for child support and educational expenses payments even after your child turns 18 and up to 23 years of age. The court looks at whether your child is “principally dependent” upon one parent which is usually understood to mean that the adult child lives primarily with one parent and includes time when your child is living at college as long as he/she lives with you during breaks and school vacation. An attorney can help review any orders you currently have in place to determine how best to proceed. Child support may be awarded retroactively, but only back to the day of filing, so If you are entitled to support, you should consider that as well.
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