Child Support
SDCL § 25-7-6.2 — both parents' combined net incomes, divided in proportion, until eighteen or nineteen in school
Support is set from a schedule in the statute. The combined monthly net incomes of both parents are used to find the obligation, which is divided between them in proportion to their net incomes, and the noncustodial parent's proportionate share is the amount of the order.
Who handles this in South Dakota: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the South Dakota directory.
Eighteen, or nineteen in school. Parents have a legal duty to support their child until the child turns eighteen, or until nineteen if the child is a full-time student in a secondary school.
Parents are jointly and severally obligated for the child's maintenance, education and support according to their means. A parent who leaves the home and stops providing support owes, until a court order sets the amount, at least that parent's share under the guidelines, from the first day of the absence.
The schedule includes a self-support reserve for a paying parent with a limited ability to pay, and the chapter allows listed deviations. How they apply to a particular household are questions for a licensed South Dakota attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- SDCL § 25-7-6.2 — Support obligation schedule
- SDCL § 25-7-6.1 — Obligation of parents to support child--Liability of absent parent
- SDCL § 25-5-18.1 — Parental duty to support child
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Dakota attorney.