No. Emancipation only occurs when a child reaches 18 years and/or becomes financially independent. A child is not automatically emancipated at the age of 18. The courts determine emancipation on an individual basis. New Jersey has no fixed age or specific event when support automatically stops unless it is stated in the court order. In some cases, support may continue beyond the age of 18 or high school graduation. To emancipate a child, one of the parents must ask the court to end or change the support order, or both parents can agree and sign a request for case closure. The emancipation of a child does not automatically excuse the payment of arrears that have accumulated.

It should also be noted that most courts will not terminate child support if a child is enrolled in college. Once a child finishes college then most judges will only emancipate him or her once the summer is over. Most judges prefer to give the young college graduate at least a summer to seek permanent employment before he or she is "cut loose" in the real world.

A parent has a legal obligation to pay for child support until he or she is emancipated. As a general rule, parents are under no duty to support their child after the age of majority. The age of majority is 18 years of age. See, Johnson v. Bradbury, 233 N.J. Super. 120 (App. Div. 1989). It must be emphasized that child support does not automatically end once the child reaches 18 years of age. There is no fixed age in the law when a child becomes emancipated. Moreover, the family courts routinely continue child support until the child completes college. Therefore, it is not unusual for a parent to support a child through his or her 20's in order for all avenues of higher education to be explored. There is no bright line rule as to what constitutes a child's emancipation.

The termination of child support only can occur if there is a changed circumstance. A changed circumstance can be the child's death, a termination of parental rights, (e.g. adoption, the child gets married, the child joins the armed forces, the child graduates from high school and does not want to attend college, or the child obtains full time employment.

The emancipation of a child is reached when the fundamental dependent relationship between the parent and the child is concluded. The parent must relinquish the right to custody, and is relieved of the burden of support. Every case is always fact-sensitive and the essential inquiry is whether the child has moved beyond the sphere of influence and responsibility his or parents. Moreover, the child must obtain an independent status of her or her own. See, Filipone v. Lee, 304 N.J. Suer. 301 (App. Div. 1997), Bishop v. Bishop, 287 N.J. Super. 593 (Ch. Div. 1995).

Once a child reaches the age of 18 then this is prima facie proof of emancipation. However, reaching the age of 18 only establishes a prima facie, but not a conclusive proof of emancipation. If a child is attending college then in almost all of the cases, a court will not emancipate a child. The parent if is filing a motion for emancipation has the burden of proving it. Ribner v. Ribner, 290 N.J. 66 (App. Div. 1997).

The factors that determine whether a child has obtained an independent status is the following; a) the child's needs; b) the child's interests; c) the child's independent resources; d) the family's reasonable expectations; e) the parties' financial ability; and f) any relevant factor.

It has been held that a child's enrollment as a cadet at West Point is an emancipation event. Upon enrollment the child is deemed to be on active duty in the military. Bishop v. Bishop, 287 N.J. Super. 593 (Ch. Div. 1995). A child living apart from his or her parents while under the age of 18 does not in and of itself result in emancipation. See, Quinn v. Johnson, 247 N.J. Super. 572 (Ch. Div. 1991).

A child under the age of 18 and who gives birth to a child without getting marriage, and who continues to be supported by her parents, is not deemed to be emancipated. See, Filipone v. Lee, 304 N.J. Super. 301 (App. Div. 1997).

A child's disability may militate against emancipation. In the case of Kruvant v. Kruvant, 100 N.J. Super. 107 (App. Div. 1968), the court held that a 25-year-old adult child's pre-existing mental illness precluded full emancipation.

My son insists that he is only on a temporary hiatus from college. If I file for his emancipation will I prevail at court?

Each emancipation case is reviewed on its individual facts and circumstances. In my experience most courts would emancipate the child. However, many judges would insert language in the emancipation order that specifies that if the child re-enrolls in college that the child support could be reinstated. Illustrative is the case of Keegan v. Keegan, 326 N.J. Super. 289 (App. Div. 1999). Here, the court denied a motion to emancipate a child who was working full time while on a temporary hiatus from college. The appellate court agreed that a brief hiatus between high school and college is common place. Moreover the court held that a child's rights to parent contribution to college should not be summarily denied.

He is now in a rehab program and trying to get his GED. I love my son, but I am sick of paying for child support. If I file for emancipation will the court grant my application?

Probably not. The courts are always very sympathetic to the child. Illustrative is the case of L.D. v. K.D. 315 N.J. Super. 71 (Ch. Div. 1998). Here, the father filed a motion to emancipate a nineteen-year-old child who failed his senior year of high school, and had a voluntary drug addition, and was denied. The child also enrolled in a rehab program, and he was working toward his GED. The court denied the emancipation motion and it held that child support must continue until the child is emancipated.

No. The right to receive child support belongs to the child and it cannot be waived, modified or negotiated away by the child's parents. Illustrative is the case of Patetta v. Patetta, 358 N.J. 90 (App. Div. 2003). Here, the court held that a provision in the parties' property settlement agreement that anticipated the emancipation of their child upon each child reaches the age of 18 was unenforceable. The court held that the right to child support could not be waived because this right belonged to the children.

Since the issue of whether a child is emancipated is fact sensitive, it is essential that your PSA have a definition of emancipation so there is no question when child support obligations stop. A PSA traditionally lists the following as emancipation events:

A typical emancipation clause that I routinely insert into my PSA's is as follows:

Emancipation Events. The parties obligations to pay all expenses associated with the support of the children shall be terminated, except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, on the first to occur of the following events: