Child Support
R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-16.2 — the family court's formula, and high school support to the nineteenth birthday
In a divorce, a separation or a petition for support, the court orders either or both parents to pay an amount based on the formula and guidelines adopted by administrative order of the family court. If it finds that amount would be inequitable to the child or either parent, it makes findings of fact and sets a reasonable amount after considering the child's resources, the custodial parent's resources, the standard of living the child would have had, the child's physical, emotional and educational needs, and the noncustodial parent's resources and needs.
Who handles this in Rhode Island: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Rhode Island directory.
Still in high school at eighteen. The court may order support and education costs for a child attending high school on the child's eighteenth (18th) birthday, and for ninety (90) days after graduation, but never beyond the nineteenth (19th) birthday.
In setting an order, incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment. How the formula applies to a particular household are questions for a licensed Rhode Island attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-16.2 — Child support
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Rhode Island attorney.