The Supreme Court of Arizona has established guidelines for determining the amount of child support to be awarded. These guidelines can be found at Arizona Revised Statues, Section 25-320(D). In this statute, the Court is also given criteria that allows for deviation from the guideline amount. When seeking deviation from the guideline amounts, the Court will consider all relevant factors such as:
- the financial resources and needs of both the child and the custodial parent
- the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved
- the physical and emotional condition of the child and the child’s educational needs
- both parents must also have sufficient resources to pay the support and provide for their own needs
- the cost of medical support, including the availability of medical insurance or a plan to be provided by the Arizona Health care system
- excessive or abnormal expenditures
- destruction, or fraudulent disposition of community, and other property held in common
Family law courts in the State of Arizona also have the right to award child support to children over the age of 18. Although most people believe that child support payments end when the child reaches this age, there are some guidelines showing how these payments can still be ordered and awarded even after this age is reached.
In Arizona, child support must be paid until
- the child reaches the age of 18, UNLESS
- if the child is still in high school, until the child graduates, OR
- the child reaches the age of 19.
If you feel that your child still requires support from you and the other parent, A.R.S. § 25-320(E) outlines the requirements that must be met to receive child support after the presumptive termination age has been reached. that the court can order and award child support to someone over the age of majority. A.R.S. § 25-320(E) allows the court to order support to continue past the age of majority if all of the following are true:
- The court has considered the factors, guidelines and needs prescribed in A.R.S. 25-320(D) section (outlined above).
- The child is severely mentally or physically disabled as demonstrated by the facts that the child is unable to live independently and be self-supporting. Typically, you will need some type of medical professional testify or write a report indicating the extent of the disability.
- The child’s disability began before the child reached the age of majority.
If all of these factors are met, then child support can be continued past the age of majority.
