Family · Child Support
When Does Child Support End in Michigan?
The age ordinary child support ends in Michigan, whether a court can order a parent to help pay for college, the disability track, and how support can end early. Cited to the statute.
How child support ends in Michigan
The end age, the college question, the disability track, and how support can end early.
| How it works | What it means |
|---|---|
| 18 is the anchor | MCL 722.52 makes a person 18 or older an adult of legal age for all purposes, so the ordinary support duty ends at 18. Both MCL 722.3 and MCL 552.17a route every post-18 question through MCL 552.605b, which is why post-majority support is entirely a matter of statute rather than general judicial discretion. |
| The high-school extension is permissive, not automatic | MCL 552.605b(1) says a court that orders child support may order it past 18 as provided in the section, and (2) is likewise phrased as the court may order. A full-time high-school student at 18 is not automatically owed support to 19 years and 6 months. Someone has to ask, and the court has to grant it. |
| Termination is written in by month | MCL 552.605b(3) requires a support order entered under the section to say support terminates on the last day of a specified month, regardless of the actual graduation date. Michigan post-18 support ends on a calendar-month boundary, not the day the diploma is handed over. |
| College and early end | What it means |
|---|---|
| Full-time high schooler, capped at 19 years 6 months | MCL 552.605b(2) lets a court order support while the child is regularly attending high school full time with a reasonable expectation of earning enough credits to graduate, while living full time with the recipient of support or at an institution, but in no case past 19 years and 6 months. All four elements must be present at once, and the residence element is the one that most often defeats a claim. |
| File before the child turns 19 years 6 months | MCL 552.605b(2) says the complaint or motion requesting this support may be filed at any time before the child reaches 19 years and 6 months. Miss that window and there is nothing left to extend. |
| By agreement, with no age cap | MCL 552.605b(5) makes a post-18 support provision valid and enforceable if it got into the order by agreement of the parties, whether stated in the order, evidenced by the parties’ or their attorneys’ approval, put in a signed written agreement, or placed on the record orally. Nothing in subsection (5) imposes the 19-and-a-half cap, so this is the practical route for college or for a disabled adult child. |
| Disability, the honest answer | Michigan has no post-majority support statute for a disabled adult child. It is not in the Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, not in the Age of Majority Act, and not in MCL 722.3. A Michigan parent cannot get a court-imposed support order past 18 on disability grounds alone. What families use instead is the agreement route, or adult guardianship and federal benefits, none of which a parent can force on the other parent. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps around ending or extending child support in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Plan for support ending at 18
Michigan support ends at 18 unless someone asks for the high-school extension. It is not automatic, so if the child is a full-time high-school student, file for it before they turn 19 years and 6 months.
- Check all four high-school elements
The extension needs full-time attendance, a reasonable expectation of graduating, and the child living full time with the recipient parent or at an institution, capped at 19 years and 6 months. A child who has moved out often falls outside it.
- Use an agreement for college or a disabled child
A Michigan court cannot order college support or disability support past 18. To bind a parent, put it in the judgment by agreement under MCL 552.605b(5), which carries no age cap.
- Look at guardianship for a disabled adult child
Because no statute compels post-18 disability support, families often use adult guardianship and federal benefits instead. Michigan Legal Help can point you to resources.
When support ends, and whether college can be ordered, turn on your order and your facts. This resource can connect you with a court self-help center or a licensed family attorney.
→ Michigan Legal HelpThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Enrollment, emancipation, disability, and college conditions can change the answer, so confirm your situation with a court resource or a licensed attorney.
What people get wrong about child support ending in Michigan
Michigan ends child support at 18, its age of majority, and it is stingier than most states about extending it. The only stretch written into the statute is high school. Under MCL 552.605b(2) a court may order support while the child is regularly attending high school full time, is reasonably expected to earn enough credits to graduate, and is living full time with the parent who receives support or at an institution, but in no case past 19 years and 6 months. Every one of those elements has to be met at once, the residence requirement trips up the most claims, and the extension is permissive: nobody is owed it automatically, someone has to ask before the child turns 19 and a half. Two things people get wrong. First, college. A Michigan court cannot order a parent to pay for college. Second, disability. There is no Michigan statute compelling support for a disabled adult child, and the Michigan Supreme Court in Smith v. Smith held courts have no power to order it. The Legislature responded to Smith by adding only the high-school section and never restored a disability extension. The way around both is the same: MCL 552.605b(5) makes post-18 support enforceable when the parties agree to it, with no age cap, which is why so many Michigan consent judgments carry open-ended support for college or for a disabled child.
Common questions
At what age does child support end in Michigan?
At 18, the age of majority under MCL 722.52. It can run to 19 years and 6 months if a court orders the high-school extension under MCL 552.605b(2), but that extension is not automatic and must be requested.
Can a Michigan court order a parent to pay for college?
No. Michigan has no statute authorizing court-ordered college support. The only way to bind a parent is by agreement in the judgment under MCL 552.605b(5), which has no age cap. A judge cannot impose it.
Does Michigan child support continue for a disabled adult child?
Not by court order. Michigan has no post-majority disability support statute, and Smith v. Smith holds courts cannot impose one. Families use the party-agreement route, or adult guardianship and federal benefits, instead.
What is the Michigan high-school support extension?
Under MCL 552.605b(2), a court may order support while the child attends high school full time, is expected to graduate, and lives full time with the recipient parent or at an institution, but never past 19 years and 6 months. File before that age.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.