Q: Can I stop child support payments if I'm overpaid?
I have a child support order that was put in place in 2011 and included 3 children. We have never had a modification done even though the children moved from me as the custodial parent to their mother. 2 of the 3 children are now 21, so 2 years removed from the order and I'm still paying the original amount. The 3rd child has 15 months until emancipation. I am currently $10,000 overpaid according to the original order. In another 15 months, I will be about $14,000 overpaid. Can I stop making the monthly payments now, which in the end, will still leave me overpaid by roughly $7000?
A: It is always risky to self-adjust a court order. If the other party never makes an issue of it, you might not have a problem but if there is a disagreement, you could be in contempt of court. When a child ages out of the order, you can have the order adjusted. if you are going through Child Support Enforcement, they can do that free of charge through their administrative process.
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