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Dennis Quaid files to end $14K child support payments after his kids graduate high school


Quaid shares twins with Kimberly Buffington


Dennis Quaid files to end $14K child support payments after his kids graduate high school© Getty Images
Maria LoretoSenior Writer
MAY 29, 2026 5:22 PM EDT

Dennis Quaid is filing to end his child support following his kids' graduation. Quaid is filing to stop payments for his twin sons, whom he shares with his ex, Kimberly Buffington.

Dennis Quaid poses in the Getty Images Portrait Studio Presented by IMDb and IMDbPro at SXSW 2025 on March 10, 2025 in Austin, Texas© Robby Klein
Quaid has discussed parenthood various times

Quaid filed the documentation on Wednesday, with court documents obtained by PEOPLE revealing that he was paying $13,750 a month in child support. He and Buffington share two 18-year-old kids, Thomas and Zoe

The documentation makes it clear that the divorce agreements between Buffington and Quaid stated that payments ended "when a child completes 12th grade (if still under 19 and a full-time high school student) or reaches the other enumerated endpoints, whichever occurs first." 

Quaid's twins will be graduating in May and June. 

Dennis Quaid and daughter Zoe Grace Quaid attend the Los Angeles premiere of "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre on August 20, 2024 in Hollywood, California.© Robin L Marshall
Dennis Quaid and daughter Zoe Grace Quaid in 2024

Quaid and Buffington married in 2004. They had their kids three years later, via surrogate, and filed for divorce in 2012. The pair finalized their divorce in 2018. Buffington was his third wife. Quaid also has a son, Jack Quaid, who's an actor, starring in projects like "The Boys" and "Companion," whom he shares with Meg Ryan. 

Following the birth of the twins, the kids were hospitalized with staph infections, beginning a stressful period for the family. While hospitalized, the kids were given 1,000 times the recommended dosage of a blood thinner, putting their lives at risk. The kids made a full recovery, but the experience inspired Quaid to launch The Quaid Foundation, to raise awareness about medical mistakes of the sort. 

"It's the greatest thing to hold those kids and see their faces because we had a happy ending," he said in an interview with PEOPLE. "It's great to be a normal dad with the normal problems of not having enough hands for both of them."

"If they hadn't made it, it really would have changed my life. But they did survive. So it changed my attitude."

Dennis Quaid and his daughter Zoe Grace Quaid attend the premiere of "Reagan" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood© VALERIE MACON
Dennis Quaid and his daughter Zoe Grace Quaid attend the premiere of "Reagan"

Quaid's opinion on fatherhood

While Quaid is private with his personal life, being careful not to divulge many details, he's often spoken about fatherhood and how special the process has been for his life. 

"It took my focus off myself, which is always good for an actor because actors are so self-involved," he said in an interview with PEOPLE from 2018. And I've learned more patience. Hopefully!"

In 2023, he called himself a "dorky dad" in another interview with PEOPLE. "I love being a dad," he said. "It turned out so far so good. Jack really turned out well. I'm really proud of him, and Thomas and Zoe too."

Dennis Quaid files to end $14K child support payments after his kids graduate high school© Getty Images
Quaid has three kids

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