Plain language law

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Child Support Act 1991

Liability to pay child support under formula assessment - General principles concerning liability to pay child support

6: Parents by whom child support payable

You could also call this:

"Who can be asked to pay child support for a child"

You can ask for child support for a qualifying child from someone if they are a parent of the child as defined in section 7. This person must also be a New Zealand citizen, usually live in New Zealand, or live in a country that has an agreement with New Zealand to enforce child support.

If a child has been adopted under the Adoption Act 1955 or an adoption that section 17 of that Act applies to, and the adoption order hasn't been cancelled, you can't ask for child support from the child's birth parents for any time after the adoption became final. The only exception is if one of the birth parents is also an adoptive parent of the child.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM253517.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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5: Children who qualify for child support, or

"Who can get child support: rules for children"

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7: Meaning of parent, or

"Who counts as a parent for child support"

Part 1Liability to pay child support under formula assessment
General principles concerning liability to pay child support

6Parents by whom child support payable

  1. Child support may be sought in respect of a qualifying child from any person—

  2. who is a parent of the child within the meaning of section 7; and
    1. who is a New Zealand citizen or is ordinarily resident in New Zealand or in a country with which New Zealand has entered into a reciprocal agreement for enforcement of child support.

      1. Notwithstanding subsection (1), where—

      2. a child has been adopted under the Adoption Act 1955 or under an adoption to which section 17 of that Act applies; and
        1. that adoption order has not been discharged,—
            1. child support may not be sought in respect of the child in relation to any period after the time at which the final adoption order became effective from any person who was a parent of the child before that time unless that person is also a person who adopted the child.