IQOTD

Q:  An 18 year old moved in with his girlfriend to her parents house. He is now 19 and decided he want to go to college and is asking parents to pay for it.  Parent A is still paying child support to Parent B as there is still a minor. Parent A is in the process of stopping child support as minor moved in with Parent A and will turn 18 in a few months.  Can Parent B fight in Arizona for more child support if the 19 year old decided to go to college and might move in with Parent B?

A: Under Arizona law, Child Support terminates the first day of the first month AFTER the child turns 18 OR graduates from high school, whichever is later. The court may order support to continue past the age of majority if the child has severe mental or physical disabilities as demonstrated by the fact that the child is unable to live independently and be self-supporting AND the child's disability began before the child reached the age of majority.  However, the Court cannot Order support simply because a child is attending college.

A qualified and experienced family law attorney can of course assist you in considering your options and then getting where you need to be. Most of us offer free, ½ hour consultations, in which your matter can be discussed in detail. That would be a great opportunity to discuss the specifics of your matter and develop a plan.  I would encourage you to quickly schedule this free consultation.

If you have questions like this, visit our website at www.familylawaz.com or call 602-256-7575 for a free consultation.

INTERESTING QUESTION OF THE DAY

IQOTD by Rich J. Peters.  July 7. 2016.

Q:  My husband filed for divorce and had me served. I did not respond since we agreed to have a default hearing decision. But now I'm worried he won't file for the default hearing. If he fails to, can I request a default? Or do I have to file for divorce separately?

A: You cannot COMPEL him to take the next step (Application for Default), but you may be able to convince him to.  If you were to file anything, then you would no longer be in default, and you both would have to proceed in a different procedural manner (via “Consent Decree”) in order to finalize your matter.  BUT CONSENT may be the best way to go for you, so that you can protect your rights/interests.  If he proceeds by default, you will not necessarily have a say as to what he includes in the Default Decree.

It would be a good idea to have an experienced Family Law attorney review his Petition BEFORE you allow your Husband to proceed by default.  Unless the Petition is incredibly detailed, he can add provisions into a Default Decree that you would have never expected or accepted.  Allowing him to proceed by default can be very risky unless you know ahead of time exactly what the Default Decree is going to look like.  

There is much more to consider.  A qualified and experienced family law attorney can of course assist you in considering your options and then getting where you need to be. Most of us offer free, ½ hour consultations, in which your matter can be discussed in detail. That would be a great opportunity to discuss the specifics of your matter and develop a plan.  I would encourage you to quickly schedule this free consultation.

If you have questions like this, visit our website at www.familylawaz.com or call 602-256-7575 for a free consultation.