There have recently been some new additions to child support guidelines in most states. This new child support law makes the legal age of children (when the non-custodial parents can stop paying child support) 18 rather than 21. Other changes include: the child should be given the standard of living that he or she could have expected if the parents had stayed married. It's important that custodial and non-custodial parents follow this new child support law. The judge will use several things to calculate the amount of the child support payments, including the non-custodial parent's ability to pay, the amount of money he or she makes, whether or not he or she is required to currently make any other type of court-ordered payments, and how many children are involved. Then, the judge will make a court-order so that the custodial parent can expect a certain amount of money each month that will be used for the benefit of the children involved. Those who refuse to pay their child support payments will face serious consequences under the law.