Raising children to adulthood requires decades of hard work and sacrifice by parents. If the parents do not live together, they split those obligations by sharing custody.
Frequently, the parent with higher income or less parenting time may have an obligation to pay child support. Child support can help the recipient parent cover necessary expenses for the children. Those expenses tend to increase as children get closer to independence, rather than decreasing because they are older.
Teenagers eat far more than younger children and may ask for mobile phones or brand-name shoes. They may also have plans to attend college after they graduate high school. Can child support help with college tuition costs?
Mississippi support lasts longer than average
In many other jurisdictions, child support ends when a child turns 18 or when they graduate from high school. The law in Mississippi recognizes that most 18-year-olds and recent high school graduates are not in a position to support themselves and live independently yet.
They still require assistance from their parents as they begin to develop their careers. As such, standard child support orders in Mississippi often last until the child turns 21.
The continued support available after a child turns 18 and finishes high school can assist with college costs. It is important to note that child support obligations often fall far below the costs of college tuition and secondary expenses, such as textbooks and on-campus housing.
Parents who understand the resources available to them when they share custody may be able to more effectively plan for their children’s futures. Child support cab assist with college costs, and parents may even plan to work cooperatively to share whatever residual expenses they need to cover.