Child support is a foreign concept to many.  Our clients often have questions about when it starts, when it stops and how/if it can ever be changed.  We offer the following to address some of the most frequently asked questions about child support in Nebraska.

When does child support stop? 

Child support continues in Nebraska until a child reaches the age of nineteen, becomes emancipated, dies, or until further court order. Most often, child support ceases because a child turns nineteen. Child support orders entered in a state other than Nebraska will follow that state's laws for when the support amount stops. This is true even if the child moves to Nebraska and the child support order is registered in Nebraska. Also, child support from another state cannot be modified in this state to change the age by which support stops.

What if a child is emancipated? 

Many people wonder what constitutes a child becoming emancipated. Emancipation is actually a finding made by a court. Nebraska law dictates that a child can be found to be emancipated, and therefore a support order can stop, if that child is between the ages of 16 and 19 years old, the child is willingly self-sufficient and willingly living apart for his/her parents or legal guardians.

Petitioning for emancipation means that the minor (someone at least 16 years old but under the age of 19) is asking a court to allow them to be treated as an adult for most purposes under the law. If the court grants the request for emancipation, the minor will have many, although not all, of the rights and responsibilities of an adult under the law. In addition, the court must make a finding that the emancipation is in the minor's best interests.

A finding of emancipation has other, perhaps unintended consequences. Once a person has been emancipated, that person will be treated as an adult in that they can enter into contracts; determine where they live; obtain debt; consent to medical and psychological treatment; enlist into the military; receive public assistance benefits; sue others or be sued by others and buy and sell real property. 

A judgment of emancipation does NOT change age requirements relating to voting; purchasing or using alcoholic beverages or tobacco products, gambling or other age-dependent health and safety laws/regulations not specifically identified herein.

How does the support obligation end? 

Child support is paid through the month that the qualifying event (child turns nineteen, dies, or becomes emancipated). Payments will then automatically stop when a child turns nineteen. If a child dies or becomes emancipated, the court will have to be advised of this qualifying event. If you have a current child support order, your order should contain the month and year of your child(ren)'s birth. The Nebraska Child Support Payment Center utilizes that information when establishing the stop date of a child support order.

For what can child support payments be used? 

We also often asked this question by both the payor and the payee. Child support can be used for anything that helps support the child(ren). That means it can be used to contribute to the payee's mortgage, food costs, fuel, car payments, or just overall monthly expenses whether such expenses are directly attributable to the child(ren) or not. In Nebraska, it is not expected that the person receiving the support account for how he/she used the child support funds. Instead, it is presumed that the payee is using the funds to help support his/her child(ren).

When is child support modified? 

Child support can be modified anytime there is a material change of circumstances that warrants a modification. For purposes of child support, that means that a person's income has changed sufficiently that a new calculation would show a change to the child support amount of 10% or more (or at least $25). It also must be expected that the change in a person's income is going to last and is not just a temporary change like a one-time bonus. Child support also often changes when there is a change in physical custody. If a custody arrangement changes from sole physical custody to a joint custody arrangement, the obligor can expect that his/her support will decrease and the same in the reverse.

More questions about child support? Think your child support may need to be modified? Just ask. We’ve got your back.