(a) Child support shall automatically be
terminated if the conditions for termination set forth in the child support
order are met. Such conditions include, but are not limited to, the adoption,
marriage, legal emancipation, enlistment in the military, and death of the
child. Child support shall also terminate if the child reaches eighteen years
of age and there is no provision in the child support order for continuing
child support.
(b) The agency may
initiate action to terminate child support when the conditions for termination
are not set forth in the child support order and the agency determines that
termination is appropriate. Such conditions include, but are not limited to,
the court ordered change of custody of the child to the obligor, the parties
residing together with the child as an intact family, and the conditions
described in subsection (a). A proposed administrative order terminating child
support is generated and served upon the parties by regular mail pursuant to
section
576E-4, Hawaii Revised
Statutes. The process as described in section
5-31-22(d)(4) through (11) is
followed to complete the termination action.
(c) In cases where the child support order
provides for child support past the age of eighteen due to continuing education
and services are being provided under title IV-D, the agency shall seek
verification of the child's continued educational status. If the child is in
high school or is enrolled or plans to enroll full-time in a post-secondary
educational or vocational institution, then child support shall continue
un-interrupted upon receipt of such verification. The agency shall initially
request verification of continued educational status three months prior to the
child's eighteenth birthday and semiannually thereafter. The request for
verification shall include the name and date of birth of the child for whom the
verification is being sought and time frame when the verification must be
returned to the agency before the agency's collection of child support is
terminated. Verification of continuing school shall consist of:
(1) Registration confirmation from the high
school;
(2) Prior to the beginning
of the school year, an acceptance letter on school letterhead and the child's
written statement indicating his or her intent to enroll on a full-time
basis;
(3) The registration
confirmation from the school of full-time enrollment or, if the full-time
status is not indicated on the registration, a minimum of twelve credit hours
per semester or its equivalent be reflected on the registration and indicating
the school and student names;
(4)
The receipt of tuition payment reflecting full-time enrollment and indicating
the school and student names; or
(5) The school registrar's letter indicating
full-time enrollment status.
If the agency does not receive verification within the
timeframe stated in the request for verification, the agency's collection of
child support shall be terminated. Once the agency's collection of child
support has been terminated, future child support shall only be reinstated
commencing the first of the month following the date proof of the child's
full-time enrollment is received by the agency. Reinstatement of the agency's
collection of child support shall only occur if the adult child has
continuously attended post-high school education on a full-time basis.
(d) In cases where the
child support order provides for child support past the age of eighteen due to
continuing education and services are not being provided under title IV-D, the
agency shall seek verification of the child's continued educational status
three months prior to the child's nineteenth birthday. If the agency does not
receive verification within the timeframe stated in the request for
verification, the agency's collection of child support shall be
terminated.
(e) In cases where the
child support order provides for child support past the age of eighteen, the
agency's collection of child support shall be terminated upon the child
reaching twenty-three years of age unless the child support order provides for
continuing child support past the age of twenty-three.
(f) The agency may terminate the income
withholding as necessary.