Is a throw away child entitled to support?

[Vandar]

Indiana

If a parent decides they no longer wish to raise a child and sends them to a relative to live, is that child entitled to child support from the parent? If so, can the child collect owed monies from the parent as an adult? Thank you....

 

[dorenephilpot]

The noncustodial parent's obligation to provide support would continue.

If the NCP is in agreement with where the child lives, he or she would still have to pay.

If the NCP doesn't agree w/the living arrangement of the child, then he has first dibs on custody of the child.

The third party generally would have no standing.

I would need to know more facts, though, of course.

 

[Vandar]

Thanks for the prompt response!
Without getting to deep, here is some more info. A pair of minor childrens' parents are divorced prior to the their mothers (custodial parent) death due to illness. When the mother dies the children begins living with their maternal grandparent.
Within a few months the father obtains custody of the children and returns them to his brand new home, a step-mother, 2 step-sisters, and 4 stepbrothers.
One of the children has a hard time adapting to the new arrangements and after approximately 2 years is moved to an Aunt and Uncle's house. Within the first few years of this arrangement, the Aunt and Uncle were given guardianship of the child and had to threaten the father with legal action if he did not turn over control of the child's social security benefits due from the mother's death.
As the years went by the father distanced himself from the child and paid no child support. The child was never adopted by the Aunt and Uncle. The father had an above average income due to his director of enginnering position with a major medical complex. The Aunt and Uncle were midlevel farmers and literally raking out a living.
The story begins to get complicated hereon out, but from this situation would the child have been entitled to any child support payments during the years he was raised by his Aunt and Uncle. If so, would the child be able to collect these monies from the father or the father's estate? (Um....the child is now an adult, married with a child)

 

[deefran]

If Aunt and Uncle were named as legal guardians by the state they WERE entitled to child support..but if they never took father to court for CS then it is too late now to collect since said child is now an adult there is nothing legally owed. Even if father was ordered to pay support to the Aunt and Uncle years ago...the child would not be owed any arrears as CS goes to custodial adults not child.

 

[kat1963]

If they had taken court action for support, above and beyond what SS was paying (and it might be iffy that they would have gotten it), then THEY would still be entitled to collect the support money in arrears from your father. It doesn't sound like they did this....so if there is no court order for him to pay support above SS, how do you think you can collect anything? You can't. The should have, would haves in this case fall on the grandparents. Apparently they felt the SS allowance was enough to support you on in the lifestyle that THEY had. If it wasn't up to par with what your siblings enjoyed, thats life pretty much. As for the estate, if only we could collect extra for having a horrible childhood...and also note, that depending on the state, the father can write the adult child out of the will...for example, leaving the child one dollar so that he/she will note they have been recognized but were not to benefit from the estate.

KAT

 

[Vandar]

Well that pretty much stinks...but makes sense. I suppose that someone could always challenge a will should it come to that. Thanks again for your input.