Mental Disability a Child support Dodge?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

My daughter got pregnant by a 26 year old kid who has autism and is mentally handicaped. This kid is in the court ordered custody of his parents. Lawyers around here tell my daughter that she can not get child support due to him being handicapped. His parents took my daughter to court and was awarded joint custody of the child so that them and the father could have visitation. My question is; if the parents are the fathers court ordered guardians, and they got a court to award visitation rights as well as joint custody of the child, why do they not have to provide any kind of support for that child?

Visitation & support are separate - you can have one without the other. Has your daughter filed for child support?

drewby_222 said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

My daughter got pregnant by a 26 year old kid who has autism and is mentally handicaped. This kid is in the court ordered custody of his parents. Lawyers around here tell my daughter that she can not get child support due to him being handicapped.

Click to expand...

I think your daughter's bigger problem might be that she had sex with someone who might not be mentally competent to consent to sex...which would be a crime.

His parents took my daughter to court and was awarded joint custody of the child so that them and the father could have visitation. My question is; if the parents are the fathers court ordered guardians, and they got a court to award visitation rights as well as joint custody of the child, why do they not have to provide any kind of support for that child?

Click to expand...

Please explain how they ended up with joint custody.

Proserpina said:

I think your daughter's bigger problem might be that she had sex with someone who might not be mentally competent to consent to sex...which would be a crime.

Click to expand...

I was thinking the same, Pro.

stealth2 said:

I was thinking the same, Pro.

Click to expand...

Yep-yep. That thought came to my mind too.

Back on track--AFAIK, mental handicaps do not, by themselves, prevent someone from paying child support. One could ask for (and even receive) an order for child support even if NCP is severely handicapped.

However, the court could decide to make the amount zero if the person is unable to work. Or, even if the court does order support, collecting it could be a major problem.

Is Dad capable of earning a living?


As to the rest of the question, the grandparents would not be responsible for supporting the child if Dad can not do so.

The parents are likely this mentally handicapped, autistic adult's legal guardians. If so, dad likely cannot act on his own behalf, legally, so the parents must file. The dad is an adult, and I know of no states that hold the parents, of adult children who become parents, legally responsible to support grandkids.

It is in the best interests of the baby to grow up knowing their paternal and maternal families and parents. CS is not an admission fee.


How high functioning is dad? Is he employable at any sort of level that would even support himself? If not, when daughter made a decision to get pregnant by this guy (which in itself is a highly question act), carry to term and raise the child, what did she think he would magically be able do to support the child? Is dad financially independent and legally independent?

drewby_222 said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

My daughter got pregnant by a 26 year old kid who has autism and is mentally handicaped. This kid is in the court ordered custody of his parents. Lawyers around here tell my daughter that she can not get child support due to him being handicapped.

Click to expand...

This line (what I bolded) stood out for me here. Since the parent posting is an outside legal party to this, we're not getting all of the details. But, if the daughter talked to attorneys (plural) and was told this, It sounds like those attorneys were given all of the pertinent details to this guy's condition and are familiar with how the courts (usually) have ruled.

Oh, and OP -- I would add this person is not a "kid." He's 26. Unless his mental condition is that of a kid. Then, well, others have already commented on the potential issues.

His parents took my daughter to court and was awarded joint custody of the child so that them and the father could have visitation. My question is; if the parents are the fathers court ordered guardians, and they got a court to award visitation rights as well as joint custody of the child, why do they not have to provide any kind of support for that child?

Click to expand...

Seriously? You can't decipher the difference here? REALLY?! Wow!

meanyjack said:

Oh, and OP -- I would add this person is not a "kid." He's 26. Unless his mental condition is that of a kid.

Click to expand...

drewby_222 said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas . . . if the parents are the fathers court ordered guardians, . . .

Click to expand...

This leads me to believe he is not competent, nor functioning as an adult.

Only thing i am going tell OP is that if the father of her grandchild is on SSDI she may want to have her daughter check into if the child can get benefits under the father. Which would replace CS anyways.

strongbus said:

Only thing i am going tell OP is that if the father of her grandchild is on SSDI she may want to have her daughter check into if the child can get benefits under the father. Which would replace CS anyways.

Click to expand...

He is 26. Its unlikely that he has enough SS credits for SSDI....if he gets anything its probably SSI and there are no children's benefits with that.

LdiJ said:

He is 26. Its unlikely that he has enough SS credits for SSDI....if he gets anything its probably SSI and there are no children's benefits with that.

Click to expand...

Right, exactly.

Of course it also makes collecting child support virtually impossible, since SSI cannot be garnished.

I still think OP's daughter's issues might be greater than the child support - and honestly daughter might not want to poke that tiger at all.