Generally and specifically under some state laws, the parent to whom support was awarded retains the right to collect support arrearages even if the child is now an adult. In most cases, an adult child does not have legal standing to directly sue his or her parent for unpaid child support.

If your child receives SSI (or SSDI as a minor on a parent’s work record), then when your child turns 18, the Social Security Administration will automatically review his or her file. The SSA uses a different test to determine benefits eligibility for adults than for minors.

Usually child support ends when the last child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later. If your child has a disability, it might last longer. NOTE: if you owe back child support (arrearages), payments will continue even after the child turns 18, until the debt plus interest is paid in full.

Child support remains payable until all of the back payments have been collected. Some states allow parents to get a judgment on child support and then renew the judgment after ten years, further extending the debt obligation for the amount in arrears.

The Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act (DDPA) of 1998, amended the CSRA. The DDPA entails felony punishment for a parent who moves to another state, or country, with the intention of evading child support payments if the debt has remained unpaid for over a year or is greater than $5,000.

If you have unpaid private debts that are subject to a court order, your $1,400 stimulus check could be garnished. The American Rescue Plan Act did not protect the one-time direct payments for people in those circumstances. Some states have stepped in to enforce their own rules to make it so the money cannot be taken.