MOUNT VERNON — A Mount Vernon man will not be forced to continue to pay child support for his 18-year-old daughter while she is in college following a hearing Monday.
“First of all, the mother didn’t show up,” said Jean Stacker, Knox County assistant prosecutor who works solely with child support cases. “Secondly, the child is passed the age of emancipation.”
According to the Ohio Revised Code, emancipation age is when a child turns 18 years old or graduates from high school. If a child is still in school, that age can be extended to 19, according to Stacker.
Other states, like Pennsylvania, will continue child support through college, but Ohio’s doesn’t follow suit, she said.
An administrative hearing for the case was held in May at the request of the mother and a recommendation to deny continued child support was issued the next day.
“The mother had the right to a court review of the appeal. That was scheduled for August but a continuance was granted until Sept. 14,” Stacker said.
Despite the mother’s absence in court Monday, Stacker said the appeal would have backed up the earlier recommendation to deny support.
“Legally, there was no ground for her to stand on,” Stacker said. “The case is over.”
Child support payments were frozen in May after a recalculation showed an over payment by the father. However, payments continued to be garnished from his paychecks as a court order had not been issued to stop payments as the case was under appeal, Stacker said.
Now that the issue is closed, Stacker said she anticpates a final calculation to take place and over payment will refunded as soon as possible.
“We will also stop the withholding and any payments that take place between now and the execution of that order will go right back to him,” Stacker said.
