Opinion ID: 3133193
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Duration of child support

Text: Terri Lin argues that the superior court erred by failing to explicitly note that its order for child support was to continue beyond the time a child turns 18 if that child is still in high school. Alaska Statute 25.24.170 anticipates continued support “for the care, nurture, and education of unmarried 18-year-old children of the marriage while they are actively pursuing a high school diploma,”37 and we have held that only in “the exceptional case” should a court decline to extend support to such an 18-year-old.38 In light of these policies, we will not read into the superior court’s order a strict end date at a child’s 18th birthday. Instead we presume that the superior court intended the support order to continue for any 18-year-olds actively pursuing a high school diploma.