Q: Can child support be modified due to children’s current living and schooling situations in MA?
I have a 21-year-old daughter who lives full-time in her college dorm despite the divorce decree stating she would live with her mother. My 18-year-old son, who just turned 18, will be living at home while attending trade school with full benefits and pay. The child support order was issued in Massachusetts. Given these circumstances and the fact that I'm now a homeowner, am I still required to continue paying the full child support amount, or is it possible to have the child support obligation modified or canceled?
A:
The easy answer is yes, you can always ask the court to recalculate child support if there is a difference in the amount of child support in effect compared to what the child support would be based on recalculation.
To go a little deeper though, you should first recalculate child support using the form on mass.gov to see what the new child support would be. Depending on when the current order was issued, child support could actually be higher than what you are paying now.
If both kids were under 18 and both are now over 18, that would likely result in a reduction. However, when the child support guidelines calculation was changed in 2021, it resulted in an increase for payors of child support with more than one child (all other things being unchanged).
In terms of the enrollment status of your kids and whether they would be considered emancipated (and no longer eligible for child support), it is a little more complicated. If your daughter is living at school, but her primary home is with your ex, she would still be eligible for child support. Your son is a little different if he has income from his vocational program. That is a very fact-specific issue and could vary based on the details.
Overall, I would suggest speaking with an attorney before you file for a modification. The worst thing would be to start the process expecting a reduction and ending up with an increase.
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