# R.O. Teen sues parents for ...aw fuck it **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 4, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810 "2014-03-04T05:55:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![KAndre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@KAndre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KAndre)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/81 "2014-03-05T12:01:52Z")
Well, in this [article](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nj-teen-sues-parents-claims-they-kicked-her-out/), it says she was asking for $650 a week in child support and the high school tuition. Really? $650 a _week_? She appears to define the word “entitlement”. The additional details: > [@](#): > > Judge Peter Bogaard noted that Rachel Canning’s behavior over the past year has been in question – one or two school suspensions, drinking, losing her captaincy on the cheerleading squad and being kicked out of the campus ministry… and the fact she still has a $20K scholarship has lost just about any sympathy I had for her (not that there was a lot to begin with). If she was slacking off her senior year, I can see the parents being afraid she would blow off her first year at college as well. But I’m still stuck at the notion of $650 a week. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/82 "2014-03-05T12:08:44Z")
How do you get “kicked out” of the campus ministry? “Jesus says, GTFO”? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/83 "2014-03-05T12:44:20Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > !st, you don’ set curfews for 18yo’s, that’s just crazy talk. > > 2nd, who she decides to be in a relationship with is none of their damn business. Sure. Do what you want on your own. If the boyfriend is a drug addict and a criminal should the parents financially support that lifestyle too? > [@Shakes](#): > > Agreed. You can be with in your rights and still be an asshole for exercising said rights. And you can be a cute smart 18 year old girl and still be an asshole. He parents are supposed to bankroll her assholeness? > [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’m really surprised about the parents getting away with not paying her school fees. How can they possibly not be liable for them? That’s their debt, not hers, surely? She probably does not have the standing to argue that. She is not party to that contract. If the school was the plaintiff it would be a straight up contract dispute which would depend on the wording of the contract. My daughter is 14 and she has been told for a while that certain things are expected of her. When she turns 18 if her obligations are not met our financial obligations end. It has to go both ways especially when you are an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/84 "2014-03-05T12:46:22Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In denying her claims thus far, the judge suggested that the idea that parents owe a duty to their adult children represented “…an expansion” of existing law. > > Does anyone disagree? I think the technical legal term is “opening up a can of worms.” I am not surprised the judge is reluctant to set precedent. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/85 "2014-03-05T13:19:57Z")
BTW this is far from over. The hearing was not the final word. It was just a ruling on a motion for immediate support before there is a full hearing. But reading some of the judge’s comments makes me think its not likely that it will go her way. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/86 "2014-03-05T13:23:28Z")
> [@KAndre](#): > > Well, in this [article](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nj-teen-sues-parents-claims-they-kicked-her-out/), it says she was asking for $650 a week in child support and the high school tuition. Really? $650 a _week_? She appears to define the word “entitlement”. The additional details: and the fact she still has a $20K scholarship has lost just about any sympathy I had for her (not that there was a lot to begin with). If she was slacking off her senior year, I can see the parents being afraid she would blow off her first year at college as well. But I’m still stuck at the notion of $650 a week. That is too much - bet they’re chancing their arm and not actually expecting to get that, which is stupid, because it just makes them sound greedy. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/87 "2014-03-05T13:24:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In denying her claims thus far, the judge suggested that the idea that parents owe a duty to their adult children represented “…an expansion” of existing law. > > Does anyone disagree? You’re question is vague. Is the idea that divorced parents owe a duty to their dependant adult children an expansion of existing law in NJ? Not at all. Such duty is settled law in NJ. Is the idea that non-separated married parents owe a duty to their dependant adult children an expansion of existing law in NJ? Yes it is. The interesting question is why the test for support of a dependant adult child hinges on the state of the relationship between the parents, rather on the responsibility to support a dependant. The quick answer is because that is the way the statue is laid out, but of course this sort of answer ignores the elephant in the corner and begs to be tested by cases such as the one at hand. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/88 "2014-03-05T13:25:16Z")
Anyone know if parents in New Jersey can sue their adult children for parental support? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/89 "2014-03-05T13:36:27Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > The interesting question is why the test for support of a dependant adult child hinges on the state of the relationship between the parents, rather on the responsibility to support a dependant. The quick answer is because that is the way the statue is laid out, but of course this sort of answer ignores the elephant in the corner and begs to be tested by cases such as the one at hand. Because child support is part of the property settlement agreement between the married couple not the children. It has to do with the divorce and the support the parent is giving to the other parent. It is to ensure that one parent does not have to shoulder the sole responsibility of support. In a divorce settlement the parents are the named parties of the suit. The children are not. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/90 "2014-03-05T13:37:33Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Anyone know if parents in New Jersey can sue their adult children for parental support? Can they anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![KAndre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@KAndre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KAndre)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/91 "2014-03-05T14:05:46Z")
This story is making a rubbernecker of me - but the details emerging make the girl look even more spoiled. From [CNN](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/04/justice/student-sues-parents-new-jersey/), > [@](#): > > The situation around the teen and her family initiated an investigation by New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP), which received allegations that Rachel was being abused. The teen wrote in court documents that her school contacted the state agency. > When DCPP staffers interviewed the teen, her parents, and her two younger sisters, they ultimately “determined that allegation of emotional abuse was unfounded,” a letter from DCPP states. In most families I know, if you cut school, punishments occur (like curfews). I have yet to see anything she has said to bolster her idea that her parents owe her everything she wants. She seems to see them as some sort of cost-free ATM. And apparently the school is letting her finish away, so why the hell was she suing for tuition? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/92 "2014-03-05T14:10:55Z")
When I watched the documentary “Van Wilder - Party Liaison” the father was able to stop paying Van’s college tuition fees immediately and there was nothing Van could do about it. He even had the College law society helping him out and the idea of suing his father for the costs was never even suggested. What I am saying is that this chick should start paying her tuition the same way Van Wilder did, by throwing parties and sleeping with Tara Reid. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/93 "2014-03-05T14:22:44Z")
> [@KAndre](#): > > This story is making a rubbernecker of me - but the details emerging make the girl look even more spoiled. From [CNN](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/04/justice/student-sues-parents-new-jersey/), > > In most families I know, if you cut school, punishments occur (like curfews). I have yet to see anything she has said to bolster her idea that her parents owe her everything she wants. She seems to see them as some sort of cost-free ATM. And apparently the school is letting her finish away, so why the hell was she suing for tuition? See, to me, if the school was concerned enough to call child protective services and is allowing the girl to continue to attend, it suggests that there was something pretty off at home. It’s not like private schools fall all over themselves to initiate government investigations of their customers. And I think that in general private schools don’t kick non-payers out mid-term: they just won’t release a transcript until they get their money. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/94 "2014-03-05T14:27:33Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But kudos to John Inglesino for cumming up with an ingenious way of getting an 18 year old chick to blow him indefinitely. Probably cheaper than lobster and Coloradoan pot! Makes me wonder if he’s not the “bad influence” boyfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/95 "2014-03-05T14:41:22Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > What I am saying is that this chick should start paying her tuition the same way Van Wilder did, by throwing parties and sleeping with Tara Reid. If its 2002 Tara Reid I agree. 2014 Tara Reid is a violation of the 8th amendment. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/96 "2014-03-05T14:58:38Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Can they anywhere? Yes. An early example of parental support legislation is found in Elizabethan England: > [@](#): > > [Anno xliii. > Reginæ ELIZABETHÆ > CAP. II. > An Act for the Relief of the Poor.](http://www.workhouses.org.uk/poorlaws/1601act.shtml) > . . . . > VII. And be it further enacted, That the Father and Grandfather, and the Mother and Grandmother, and the Children of every poor, old, blind, lame, and impotent Person or other poor Person not able to work, being of a sufficient Ability, shall, at their own Charges, relieve and maintain every such poor Person in that Manner, and according to that Rate, as by the Justices of Peace of that County where such sufficient Persons dwell, or the greater Number of them, at their General Quarter Sessions shall be assessed ; upon Pain that every one them shall forfeit twenty Shillings for every Month, which they shall fail therein. I have come across parental support legislation in various Canadian provinces, including my province on Ontario: > [@](#): > > [parental support legislation](http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90f03_e.htm#s32)Family Law Act > R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER F.3 > . . . . > 32. Every child who is not a minor has an obligation to provide support, in accordance with need, for his or her parent who has cared for or provided support for the child, to the extent that the child is capable of doing so. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, s. 32. From what I can see, there are some primary issues that are more or less interrelated: Should a person who can not adequately support himself or herself be supported, and if so, to what degree? If there should be support, who should provide it? State, church, employer, family, etc., and in what proportions to each other under what circumstances? Should support for recipients be tied to some benefit for the payor? A state benefitting from a stronger tax base resulting from a healthier and better educated workforce? A Church benefitting from tax relief? Employers benefitting from a healthier and better educated workforce, and benefitting from tax relief? Families benefiting from the emotional, physical and often financial interactions among themselves, and benefiting from tax relief? The making and balancing of social obligations, including assisting in providing for the well being of others such as one’s family and one’s community (one’s fellow citizens, one’s congregation, one’s employees, etc.), is fundamental to humanity, with a general progression in first world countries to try to ensure that their citizens’ needs are met. I’m curious as to how spousal support, child support and parental support are handled in the USA. The case at hand, and the ensuing discussion, provides interesting insights. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/97 "2014-03-05T15:04:17Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Yes. An early example of parental support legislation is found in Elizabethan England: > > I have come across parental support legislation in various Canadian provinces, including my province on Ontario: Ok you got me. My question was way too broad. I meant to say, can they anywhere in the US. I asked since you specifically asked about NJ. As far as I know there is no obligation for one adult to care for another. But I am in no way an expert and I don’t know civil or family law all that well. And I certainly don’t know the law in all 50 states. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/98 "2014-03-05T15:12:42Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Someone will eventually come in here and babble about how in some countries parents are responsible for their cunt turds happiness & upkeep until they can count to potato. > > No more relevant in the USA as what happens on the 3rd moon of Fargon 6 In fact, it’s totally relevant. Because it shows that the idea that parents can’t be held finally responsible in this sort of situation isn’t obviously, universally true. If people were arguing only about law, it wouldn’t be. But they don’t. They argue about the morals of the situation. Who’s right, who’s wrong? There’s quite clearly room for disagreement here. And frankly, lacking any other information, I would tend to side with the daughter. Her parents seem to try hard to fuck up her future (to the extend of refusing to pay for the school they put her in until the end of the year) over what seems to be a very usual teen/parent issue. Besides, in the instances I’ve known about (long ago, when I was working in a social service) involving a kid kicked out by his parents the day he turned up 18, the parents were the unreasonnable ones. Reasonable parents might kick out their worthless children, but they typically don’t do so as soon as they can legally get away with it. Finally, I note that apparently, scolarship might be denied to her on the basis of her parents’ income. Which would make sense if her parents had an obligation to support her financially but doesn’t if they don’t. If true, she’s doubly fucked. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/99 "2014-03-05T15:22:24Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > See, to me, if the school was concerned enough to call child protective services and is allowing the girl to continue to attend, it suggests that there was something pretty off at home. It’s not like private schools fall all over themselves to initiate government investigations of their customers. > > And I think that in general private schools don’t kick non-payers out mid-term: they just won’t release a transcript until they get their money. Isn’t it the case these days that schools call CPS at the mere mention of “i’m abused” or when an otherwise good student suddenly has behaviour changes? The girl made the allegation, the school is required to call CPS - IOW, they don’t do it because they were concerned, they do it as much of a CYA move and a requirement by law. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/100 "2014-03-05T15:31:18Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > See, to me, if the school was concerned enough to call child protective services and is allowing the girl to continue to attend, it suggests that there was something pretty off at home. Oh for cryin’ out loud, have you been living under a rock the last 20 years? Any time a student even \*thinks \*the words ‘abuse’ while at school, the school is going to freak out and report it and make sure it becomes Someone Else’s Problem, lest they get sued for ‘knowing about alleged abuse and failing to act’. And when the CPS got involved, they basically found nuthin’. And as more details come out, I’d say the shine is starting to come off our ‘honors student’. > [@](#): > > Canning was suspended from school for truancy last October, according to court documents filed by her parents’ attorney, Laurie Rush-Masuret. Her parents told the teen that she could no longer see her boyfriend, who was also suspended from school. Car and phone privileges were also taken away. Once she learned of the punishment, Canning cut school again and then decided to run away, her father said in court documents. Responsible 18yr old honors students don’t get suspended from school for truancy, don’t get busted for drinking, don’t get kicked out of a campus ministry, don’t lose the captaincy of the cheerleading squad… Obviously no proof, but it sounds exactly to me like she got in with a bad boyfriend - who, it should be noted, was also suspended from school (the article doesn’t say why, but since the daughter goes out of her way to say ‘I don’t have a drug problem’, I suspect he was caught with drugs). And it sounds exactly to me like the parents knew the boyfriend was trouble, and started enforcing rules on visiting & curfews, then escalating the punishment when she continued to disobey (taking away the car etc). I’m someone’s child. And I simply can not imagine any scenario where I’d \*sue my parents. \*To me she sounds like a self-centered, ungrateful, over-indulgent selfish little wench that is going to get a rude awakening when it come to learning how the Real World bitch-slaps people expecting to only live by their own rules. Lacking any other information, I am siding with the parents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810.md?page=6)