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Pregnant teen & child support after the birth of baby

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sherry7

Guest
My husband and I recently found out that his 17 year old (11th grade) daughter is pregnant, due in June 2001. Her boyfriend dumped her as soon as she told him about the pregnancy. She lives with her mother. My husband currently pays court ordered support for his daughter. My questions are:

My husband won't be responsible for paying child support for his grandchild, will he? She will be 17 when the baby is due.

If she drops out of school (which, unfortunately she wants to do), is my husband still legally obligated to pay child support after she has her baby? Would she be considered an emancipated minor after she has a child? The baby is due in June 2001, she will be 18 in Sept 2001.

I have a strong suspicion that my step-daughter will want to quit school and go on welfare. Unfortunately, she inherited those values from her mother. If that happens, does my husband still pay child support for her, or is she considered an emancipated minor at that time?

If she does in fact go on welfare, will the state pursue her ex-boyfriend for any type of child support? (He is over 18.)

Any help is appreciated. By the way, all of the parties involved live in Pennsylvania. Gosh, what a mess...it's too bad that these kids seem to forget how babies get here and that someone needs to be responsible for them.

 


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LadyBlu

Guest
sherry7 said:
My husband and I recently found out that his 17 year old (11th grade) daughter is pregnant, due in June 2001. Her boyfriend dumped her as soon as she told him about the pregnancy. She lives with her mother. My husband currently pays court ordered support for his daughter. My questions are:

My husband won't be responsible for paying child support for his grandchild, will he? She will be 17 when the baby is due.

If she drops out of school (which, unfortunately she wants to do), is my husband still legally obligated to pay child support after she has her baby? Would she be considered an emancipated minor after she has a child? The baby is due in June 2001, she will be 18 in Sept 2001.

I have a strong suspicion that my step-daughter will want to quit school and go on welfare. Unfortunately, she inherited those values from her mother. If that happens, does my husband still pay child support for her, or is she considered an emancipated minor at that time?

If she does in fact go on welfare, will the state pursue her ex-boyfriend for any type of child support? (He is over 18.)

Any help is appreciated. By the way, all of the parties involved live in Pennsylvania. Gosh, what a mess...it's too bad that these kids seem to forget how babies get here and that someone needs to be responsible for them.

Dad will be responsible for paying support to his daughter until the date the court order specifies. His grandbaby will be supported by her daddy. A child does not automatically become emancipated by having a child. Emancipation includes living on their own and being self supporting. She can collect welfare for her baby and still have her mother collect CS for her.
 
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REParker819

Guest
Does PA still provide welfare benefits for underage people? I know that here in DE, if you are under 18, you can no longer get food stamps, welfare checks, etc, but you can get Medicaid still. Apparently, they are thinking that if they prohibit the benefits, they will stop teens from getting pregnant. So far, its not working. All it is doing is preventing these mothers from being able to care for their children better. Minimum wage doesnt go very far these days. And no, I do not speak from experience. I was 20 when I had my daughter, and only received Medicaid (the case has been closed now Whoooohoo! DH has health ins from his new job) and foodstamps when I was out of work on maternity leave. We havent gotten those in about 5 months now I think. Thank God for that bc people treat you like dirt when you have them. Despite the fact my dh was working his behind off. Oh well. Its in the past.
 
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LadyBlu

Guest
REParker819 said:
Does PA still provide welfare benefits for underage people? I know that here in DE, if you are under 18, you can no longer get food stamps, welfare checks, etc, but you can get Medicaid still. Apparently, they are thinking that if they prohibit the benefits, they will stop teens from getting pregnant. So far, its not working. All it is doing is preventing these mothers from being able to care for their children better. Minimum wage doesnt go very far these days. And no, I do not speak from experience. I was 20 when I had my daughter, and only received Medicaid (the case has been closed now Whoooohoo! DH has health ins from his new job) and foodstamps when I was out of work on maternity leave. We havent gotten those in about 5 months now I think. Thank God for that bc people treat you like dirt when you have them. Despite the fact my dh was working his behind off. Oh well. Its in the past.
I agree with you completely RE, I have been off work for my back since April of this year and still refuse to go apply for FS, so I just pray weekly that the $65.00 check for support comes in from my oldest sons father as that is designated as grocery money, then pay other bills from the other two support checks. It gets tight, I wont deny it, but we manage.. And I have a very good social worker in my county that I had to work with years ago. But it is still a very degrading experience to go into that office and apply for assistance.. I will probably end up doing so after the NY though.. as it has reached that point.. but I know that I will not enjoy doing it..

Happy Holidays to Everybody
LadyBlu
 
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sherry7

Guest
You know, I'm not sure about the under 18 thing for welfare benefits. I never thought about that. I don't want to see the kid go on welfare, because that's the easy way out. Some people use welfare the right way...as a temporary helping hand. Unfortunately, she might see it as a more permanent solution. Even though she's pregnant, I think she should stay in school and keep her part time job to help support her baby. I do hope that she can get medical assistance for the baby though, since I don't think my husband's insurance will cover the baby since she doesn't live with us. Thanks for the answers.
 
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REParker819

Guest
Sherry, I doubt that your insurance would cover her baby, regardless of whether or not she lives with you. Most wont. You dont have to pay child support for her child, but I would hope that you would help her out. Yes, the bb is her's and the boyfriend's responsibility since they helped create it, but she IS only 17, and she may need help. Teenagers never realize how hard taking care of a baby is until they are actually here.
 
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swthoss

Guest
In the state of Pennsyvania, a girl is automaticcly emancipated after the birth of her second child, if both children live with the mother, and not given up for adoption. She can collect welfare for herself and her children. My girlfriends daughter just went through this. The check is written out to the grandmother, or adult the teen mother resides with, until emancipation. She can get a 1 year waiver, where she does not have to go to work for 1 year after the birth. But then she will have to go to Welfare classes and get a job. she can only get that waiver once in a lifetime. That way the girls don't keep having babies to avoid work. Welfare will force the mother to go after the father for child suport, if she refuses, she could loose benifits. She can even get help to pay child care while she is at work, If the grandmother babysits, grandmother gets paid.

The system is set up now that you can only use welfare temporarily. You can and will get thrown off for not complying.


Since the Wefare system is set up this way, your stepdaughter will be better off if she finishes school, or at least get her GED. I think Wefare will pay child care for her to finish school.
 

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