Does a parent have a right to a minor's income?

[The_Non-Mom]

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

Hello fellow knowledge-seekers! I have an interesting question for you. Here are the basics: Little Girl is 12; 50/50 placement with Dad being "primary".

Little Girl rides and shows horses competitively. The past few years, she has only participated is small local shows and a couple of class A academy shows. This year, her trainer feels she is ready to go to the next level and start showing at more class A shows. Dad has registered her for a total of four this summer.

In class A shows, there is an opportunity to win prize money. The prizes aren't huge; if Little Girl does well, she could win $200, maybe $300, per show. There certainly would be no chance of making a profit even if she did win up to $300. The expenses of registering and travelling to these shows far surpass the prize money.

Mom does not contribute financially (or otherwise) to Little Girl's horse riding even though the court order says she is to pay half. Dad has never pursued it because he knows she isn't in a position to contribute even if she wanted to. No big deal.

Question - is Mom entitled to any part of the money that Little Girl might win over the summer?

Here is one more thing to consider - the type of classes Little Girl shows in are judged on the HORSE, not the rider. So technically the horse wins the money and Dad and I own the horse.

 

[ecmst12]

Any money won should go directly into child's college fund or other savings. NEITHER parent should lay any claim to it.

 

[CJane]

Actually... depending on the actual classes that kiddo is participating in, the winnings should go to the owner of the horse.

When I was riding, if it was an equitation class (wherein the RIDER is judged), I received the prize money, if any.

If it was a class in which the HORSE is judged, the owner of the horse received the funds, minus whatever I was being paid to ride the horse for them.

 

[ecmst12]

Since dad owns the horse, it seems to me that placing the money in trust for the child is one way that is almost guaranteed not to upset any judge, even if technically dad and stepmom might be entitled to the money as the owners of the horse. Letting the child keep the money is something that mom can't reasonably get upset about without making herself look like a greedy fool.

 

[The_Non-Mom]

The plan is to put any prize money in a separate account to be used to pay the costs for registering for further shows. The ultimate goal is to show at Grand Nationals and that will take lots of saving!

CJane, that's exactly what Little Girl's trainer and I were thinking. This year, she is only doing Pleasure classes because her horse hasn't been trained for Equitation. If she does Eq classes in the future, then we would probably put the prize money into her college fund.

 

[justalayman]

and if it is a situation where the child is awarded the prize money, mom or dad can still take it. It sucks to be a kid sometimes.

I cannot tell you how it must be divided, if at all but I would think it would go to the legal custodian or to each equally if legal custody is shared.

 

[ecmst12]

If riders are normally paid a fee by the owners for riding a horse (as CJane implied), then you should at the very least be keeping up with whatever the standard in your area is.

 

[The_Non-Mom]

Riders are sometimes paid a fee. However, because Little Girl is a junior exhibitor, she has Amatuer status and Amatuers are not paid. We actually have another rider also riding the horse this summer. She is 20 but kept her Amatuer status, and therefore we cannot pay her.

Also, I would have no problem sharing some of the profits with Mom if there were any. The problem is...there won't be. If Little Girl was winning, say, $1000 at each show, then for sure we would split the profit. Then again, if there were profits to be split, Dad would start asking for the court order to be enforced and for Mom to start covering half the expenses.

 

[CJane]

I competed heavily for ~ 25 years. I can attest that there is very little profit to be made if one also OWNS the horses and is responsible for things like shoes, vet costs, vaccinations, trailering, board, etc etc etc... it's never-ending if you're competing at any sort of regional or national level.