Paying Child Support, Until When?
One of the most frequently asked questions when there is a divorce or separation with children to whom alimony has to be paid is, and until when do I have to pay alimony to my children? Well, although it may seem the opposite at first glance, the situation is not very different from when the marriage continues in a normal situation, because how long do you continue to "spend" on your children? Well, often well into their thirties, because even at that age they are not yet emancipated, for whatever reason.
In the same way, in principle, child maintenance is always payable for as long as they are minors. Once they reach the age of majority, this will depend on all the circumstances, because if the children are already financially independent (they earn their own money and are financially independent), the maintenance payments can be stopped.
However, in most cases, reaching the age of majority does not mean that the child is self-supporting, and in such a case, it will be necessary to see why the child is not self-supporting in order to determine whether or not the maintenance obligation should be terminated. If the child is not self-supporting because he or she is still in education, is studying, or suffers from some kind of illness or problem that prevents him or her from doing so, the obligation to pay maintenance will not cease. But if the child is not financially independent because he or she is a "ni-ni" (neither studying nor working nor doing anything), then it can be assumed that the time has come to stop paying.
One last point to bear in mind is that even if the child already has a job, it must be at least stable, because if he or she has a 15-day contract, and then spends 4 months unemployed, and then starts all over again, then it cannot be said that there is true financial autonomy, in which case the maintenance payments will have to continue.
In any case, bear in mind that you should not stop paying child support at "your own risk", as you could be committing a crime, but that it is up to the judge to decide whether or not to stop paying child support, through the judicial procedure for the modification of measures.
Don't forget that you can contact me if you have any doubts by sending me an email with your query to dtierno@icacordoba.es
David Tierno García
Attorney at Law
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