Child Reaches Adulthood

• Child support payments in Alabama and other states around the country may be terminated once the child reaches the age of 18. At this point the child is considered a legal adult and no longer a dependent of her parents. The parent having custody of the young adult may still claim her as a dependent for tax purposes until she reaches the age of 23 at which point she is considered completely independent. The parent paying child support may of course continue to provide for his child's needs even though the child is now a legal adult, but he is not legally required to do so.
  
  

Changes in Child Custody

• The law in Alabama entitles a parent to have orders for support and custody arrangements reviewed by the court every four years. An order for support may be adjusted or terminated by the court if the parent without custody is granted full custody of the child or a large enough portion of custody so as to be considered the primary caregiver of the child. A change in custody that would require the termination of an order of support could also result from the death of the custodial parent.
  
  

Significant Financial Hardship

• If a parent paying child support in Alabama to a spouse can show the court a significant financial hardship resulting from support payments, the court can lower support payments which may result in a termination of support. Significant financial hardship cannot result from something as simple as unemployment or excessive debt. Excessive financial hardship may be defined as significant travel costs for visiting the child, education costs of the child prior to the child reaching legal adulthood or any other factor which the court believes to be in the best interest of the child.
  
  

Split Custody

• If the Alabama court believes the custody of the child and costs of supporting the child should be shared equally by both parents, no order of support may be issued or an existing order may be terminated. This may change if custody arrangements are altered and one parent garners a larger share of custody or if one parents requests a review of the support arrangement as she is entitled to do once every four years.