In Arkansas, the duty to pay child support for a minor child ends automatically when a child turns 18 unless the child is still attending high school. If the child is attending high school, then the child support will continue through the end of the school year or graduation, or the child turns 19, whichever is sooner.
The expiration of child support only applies to ongoing support. If a parent owes child support that support must be paid.
Although the duty to support automatically stops, the person paying child support must give notice to certain interested parties within ten (10) days of the termination of the duty to support the child. The notice must be sent to all of the following that apply, this includes the:
- custodial parent;
- physical custodian;
- Clerk of the Court;
- Child Support Clearinghouse;
- Office of Child Support Enforcement;
- payor's employer
If there are younger children, then the child support amount will automatically be adjusted according to the most recent family support chart, if the order was entered according to the revised Administrative Order No. 10 of the Arkansas Supreme Court. This new Order was adopted April 2, 2020 and was required for all support orders after June 30, 2020. These new guidelines calculate child support based on the income of both parents. If a child support order was entered before the revised Administrative Order No. 10 went into effect, then the court must use the newest child support guidelines to enter the appropriate child support amount.
