Kansas law does allow child support to be paid beyond the age of 18 in certain circumstances. However, a court may not rule that the payment may be made retroactive after the child reaches the age of 18. Pursuant to a new case, In re Marriage of Funk, No. 92,332, just handed done today, March 4th, 2005 by the Kansas Court of Appeals. K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 60-1610(a)(1)(C) permits a court to extend child support to continue through the school year during which the child becomes 19 years of age if (1) a motion is filed seeking the extension; (2) the child is still a bona fide high school student after June 30th of the school year during which the child became 18 years of age: and (3) the child's parents jointly participated or knowingly acquiesced in the decision which delayed the child's completion of high school.
However, one must remember that pursuant to K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 60-1610(a)(1)(C) seeking an extension of child support through the school year during which the chid becomes 19 years of age must be filed while the child is still a high school student.
Of course, if the parents agree, as I hope they would, an agreed order could be filed with the court extending the support obligation. And the Court expressed this also when it stated that "we do not intend by our decision today to discourage voluntary extension of a parent's child support obligation through a child's senior year if the child turns 18 during the child's junior year, whether such extension is effectuated by written agreement, or simply through voluntary continuation.
To read the full case click HERE.
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