The world today is a very busy and mobile place. Because it is easy to cross state lines, often people live in one state and work in another. This is quite common in the Kansas City metropolitan area, which spans the states of Kansas and Missouri.
Additionally, it is not unusual for individuals to have more than one job during a career. That job may take the person to a different state and even a different area of the country.
This mobility creates unique issues for parents and children of divorced families. It is not uncommon for two people with children to be divorced in one state and then one or both of the parents to move out of that state. Such a situation raises numerous issues regarding the duration of child support.
The Duration of Child Support in Kansas and Missouri
In Kansas child support terminates upon the child reaching the age of 18 or upon graduation from high school unless the parents agree otherwise. Kansas Statute 60-1610(a)(1).
However, Missouri law provides for longer child support. Specifically, Missouri allows for support obligations to extend beyond the age of 18 if the child is enrolled in college. If the child is enrolled in college then the child support continues until the child completes his/her education or reaches the age of 22, whichever occurs first. (Missouri Revised Statute 452.340(3)(5)).
Problems occur when parents are divorced in one state and then move to another state. The duration of the child support might differ in the two states. Kansas and Missouri solved this problem by adopting the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act of 1996 (UIFSA). (Gentzel v. Williams, 25 Kan. App. 2d 553, 556-57, 965 P.2d. 855 (1998). UIFSA was promulgated by Congress and intended to be used as a procedural mechanism for the establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support as well as spousal support obligations. UIFSA establishes a one-order system requiring all states to recognize and enforce the support obligation consistently.
How to Decide Which State Law Applies to the Duration of Child Support
Kansas law provides that a Kansas court has jurisdiction to modify a support order if all of the parties to the action and the children reside in Kansas. (Kansas Statute 23-9, 613(a) ). The procedural and substantive laws of Kansas apply to the enforcement or modification of the support order. (Kansas Statute 23-9,613(b)). However Kansas Statute 23-9, 611, which states, “a tribunal of this state may not modify any aspect of a child support order than may not be modified under the law of the issuing state” continues to apply even if all of the parties have moved to Kansas. (Kansas Statute 23-9, 611).
How the Kansas court has interpreted these statutes and how the statutes work together can be quite confusing. The best way to explain how these statutes work together and to determine what law applies is by example. The Kansas court in In re the Marriage of Doetzl, No. 88755 has provided just such an example.
In Doetzl, Mom and Dad were divorced in Missouri. During the marriage the couple had two children. At the time of the case one of the children had graduated from high school and was a full time college student. The divorce decree provided that support was to continue until the children reached the age of majority or become emancipated.
Some time later Mom moved with the children to Kansas. Dad also moved to Kansas at a later date. Thereafter Dad moved the Kansas court to modify the order for child support. Dad argued that his child support obligation should be modified because one of his children had reached the age of majority. He also argued that Kansas procedural and substantive laws should apply to shorten the length of his support payments.
At issue in the case are two statutes. One is Kansas Statute 23-9, 613 which provides in relevant part:
(a) If all of the parties who are individuals reside in this state and the child does not reside in the issuing state, a tribunal of this state has jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the issuing state’s child support order in a proceeding to register that order.
(b) A tribunal of this state exercising jurisdiction under this section shall apply the provisions of Kansas Statute 23-4, 106, 23-4, 107, 23-9, 101, 23-9, 102, 23-9, 103, 23-9, 201 through 23-9, 209, 23-9,601 through 23-9, 611 and amendments thereto, and the procedural and substantive law of this state to the proceeding for enforcement or modification.
The other statute at issue is Kansas Statute 23-9, 611(c ), which provides:
A tribunal of this state may not modify and aspect of a child support order that may not be modified under the law of the issuing state. (emphasis added)
Dad wants to follow Kansas law and stop paying child support for his children when they reach the age of 18. Looking at the language in Kansas Statute 23-9, 611( c), the question for the Kansas court is whether the duration of Dad’s child support obligation is modifiable under Missouri law. In other words, if Dad and Mom were still residents of Missouri (the issuing state) could the Missouri court grant Dad his request to modify the length of time that he has to pay child support? If the answer is “no” then Kansas, or any other court for that matter, cannot modify the duration of the support. The answer to the question is in fact “no” and here is why.
Missouri child support law provides in relevant part:
3. Unless the circumstances of the child manifestly dictate otherwise and the court specifically so provides, the obligation of a parent to make child support payments shall terminate when the child:
(1) Dies;
(2) Marries;
(3) Enters active duty in the military;
(4) Becomes self-supporting, provided that the custodial parent has relinquished the child from parental control by express or implied consent;
(5) Reaches age eighteen, unless the provisions of subsection 4 or 5 of this section apply; or
(6) Reaches age twenty-two, unless the provisions of the child support order specifically extend the parental support order past the child’s twenty-second birthday for reasons provided by subsection 4 of this section.
4. If the child is physically or mentally incapacitated from supporting himself and insolvent and unmarried, the court may extend the parental support obligation past the child’s eighteenth birthday.
5. If when a child reaches age eighteen, the child is enrolled in and attending a secondary school program of instruction, the parental support obligation shall continue, if the child continues to attend and progresses toward completion of said program, until the child completes such program or reaches age twenty-one, whichever first occurs. If the child is enrolled in an institution of vocational or higher education not later than October first following graduation from a secondary school or completion of a graduation equivalence degree program and so long as the child enrolls for and completes at least twelve hours of credit in each semester, not including the summer semester, at an institution of vocational or higher education and achieves grades sufficient to reenroll at such institution, the parental support obligation shall continue until the child completes his or her education, or until the child reaches the age of twenty-two, whichever firs occurs. (Missouri Revised Statute Sec. 452.340).
The intent of the Missouri law is clear. The language in the child support statute is mandatory. It reads that the “parental support obligation shall continue until the child completes his or her education, or until the child reaches the age of twenty-two.” The Missouri legislature wants to assist children of divorced parents in obtaining a post-secondary education. Crawford v. Crawford, 986 S.W.2d 525, 531 (Mo. App. 1999). Termination of the requirement to pay child support in Missouri occurs only upon the finding of a trial court that statutory prerequisites have not been met. See Kessinger v. Kessinger, 829 S.W.2d 658 (Mo. App. 1992). Thus, the duration of child support is not modifiable by the Missouri court except under very limited, specified situations.
This means that because the Missouri court could not modify the duration of the child support, neither can Kansas. (Kansas Statute 23-9, 604(a)) .
Considerations for Kansas Parents Who were Divorced in a Different State
Kansas parents who were divorced in a different state have unique issues regarding the duration of child support. To determine how long child support will run a parent must first determine what state is the issuing state. This can be tricky. Usually the issuing state is the state that issued the divorce decree. Remember that the issuing state does not necessarily still have continuing exclusive jurisdiction to make decision. (like in the example above, Missouri was the issuing state but Kansas had jurisdiction to modify the order).
Once it is determined what state is the issuing state, a parent needs to determine what the law is in that state regarding the duration of child support payments. The parent also must determine whether the duration of the support obligation is modifiable in the issuing state. If the duration of the support obligation is modifiable, then the law of Kansas regarding the 18 year age limit can be applied. If, on the other hand, the duration of the support obligation is non modifiable by the issuing state, then Kansas cannot apply the 18 year old age limit for support and the laws of the issuing state would apply as to duration of the child support obligation. If faced with these complex issues it is often best to consult an attorney to assist you.
To reach the author, call Kathy Barker at (913) 438-4636,
or send e-mail to Kathy@yourchild1st.com .
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