18 year old sues parents

[hbear]

Has this been talked about? This blew my mind when I hear it this morning:

Link to article: www.hngn.com/articles/25659/20140303/new-jersey-high-school-student-sues-parents-for-abandonment-after-being-kicked-out-of-family-home-at-age-18.htm

A New Jersey high school student is suing her own mother and father for reportedly kicking her out of the house the moment she turned 18 years old.



Rachel Canning, a Morris Catholic High School honor student, cheerleader and lacrosse player, filed a suit against her parents in the Family Part of Morristown's state Superior Court, according to a report by USA Today. The 18-year-old is suing mother Elizabeth and father Sean Canning for financial support and full payment for her college education.



Rachel has reportedly not been emancipated from her parents, and is dependent on them for monetary backing.



Rachel's lawyer Tanya N. Helfand stated on Monday that Elizabeth and Sean haven't paid back $5,306 in tuition owed to Morris Catholic School, and have ordered the parents to return that debt immediately, pay for Rachel's living and travel expenses, then entrust a college fund to their child.



Judge Peter Bogaard of the Morristown Court has scheduled Rachel's hearing for Tuesday, USA Today reported.



Rachel has stayed with a friend living in Rockaway Township since she was reportedly "abandoned" by her mother and father. Classmate Jaime Inglesino's father John is footing the bill for the lawsuit, and has hired attorney Helfand to work for the teen.



Father Sean said this week that Rachel's issues are not being portrayed accurately, and expressed worry that the teen was being "enabled" by people like the Inglesino family, who mean well, but don't fully understand the whole picture.



"We love our child and miss her," Sean told USA Today. "This is terrible. It's killing me and my wife. We have a child we want home. We're not Draconian and now we're getting hauled into court. She's demanding that we pay her bills, but she doesn't want to live at home and she's saying, 'I don't want to live under your rules.'"



Sean admitted that he and his wife hadn't paid tuition for Morris Catholic High, but Rachel's case was being blown out of proportion. He told USA Today that the teen didn't want to follow basic rules of the home - following curfew, doing chores and not arguing with her two siblings among them - and refused to sever ties with her boyfriend, who the parents think aren't good for Rachel.



"We're heartbroken, but what do you do when a child says, 'I don't want your rules but I want everything under the sun and you to pay for it?'" Sean told USA Today.



Meanwhile, Rachel contended in her filing that her parents kicked her out of the house on Nov. 1, the day she turned 18 years old. The New Jersey teen wrote in her paperwork that her mom and dad cut her "from all support both financially and emotionally," asking school officials at Morris Catholic to not let her go home. Rachel also said her parents abused her.



"My parents have rationalized their actions by blaming me for not following their rules," Rachel wrote. "They stopped paying my high school tuition to punish the school and me and have redirected my college fund, indicating their refusal to afford me an education as punishment."



Sean said that his daughter's fund is open to her, and hasn't been withdrawn or moved as she says.

[cleo29]

Yikes. You know how the saying goes, there's her side and their side and somewhere in the middle is the truth.

[TrickyBob]

My guess is Mom and Dad set ground rules, she wanted to do whatever she wanted, so they told her she could leave and go be an adult if she wanted, so she left. And then Mom and Dad told her that if she wants to come home, she needs to follow their rules. And then she threw a fit.

I'd be inclined to believe the parents.

[sharknado]

This is gross
I'm scared to have a teenager

[muppetinma]

Mar 3, 2014 12:40:19 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

My guess is Mom and Dad set ground rules, she wanted to do whatever she wanted, so they told her she could leave and go be an adult if she wanted, so she left. And then Mom and Dad told her that if she wants to come home, she needs to follow their rules. And then she threw a fit.

I'd be inclined to believe the parents.

This.  There are obviously two sides to every story, but to sue your parents and demand a college fund?  She sounds like a gem.  

[wysiwyg]

It sounds like she is still in highschool. If that is the case, I can see why this was admitted to court.

[alare]

How does something like this even make it to court? Must be more to the story . . .

[cville]

Mar 3, 2014 13:08:55 GMT -5 alare said:

How does something like this even make it to court? Must be more to the story . . .

The plaintiff fills some shit out and pays a like $100 filing fee, unless they're proceeding in forma pauperis, in which case it's $0.  Seriously people, I don't mean to get too defense attorney on you but the threshold for getting into court doesn't even mandate a full command of the english language, or any other language for that matter, much less a valid case.  Staying there is a different story.

And we know nothing here from this article about anything, although I'm interested to see how this plays out.

[bbonanza]

There's a little more info in this article:
www.dailyrecord.com/article/20140302/NJNEWS/303020017/Morris-Catholic-HS-senior-suing-parents-who-won-t-pay-college

[fezzik]

The article makes her sound like a brat. Obviously we don't know all the details, but if I were her parent, I would be tempted to use the money I put in her college fund to pay for my attorney.

[Deleted]

My parents would laugh until they cried.

[vanillacourage]

I want to know what "foul"  name her mom called her, at school, in front of mediators.  I get that they're pushed to the limits, but they might not be the reasonable parental saints they portray themselves as.

[malibu]

She sounds like a massive pain in the ass. I'm sure the parents aren't saints, but holy hell that girl sounds, well, like a spoiled little girl.

[Deleted]

I can't even count the number of times that I tried to pull the 'well I'm, 18 and and adult so I don't have to listen to you crap' to which my parents always replied 'if you don't like it, there is the door'.

My guess is girl did something like that and she left expecting parents to beg he to come back and give her leniency. When that didn't happen she threw a tantrum and filed a lawsuit.

Also the idea that parents are'legally obligated' to pay for college makes me cringe.

[mushmouse]

Mar 3, 2014 14:11:07 GMT -5 incogneato said:

Um,

Since the alleged “abandonment” by her parents, Rachel has been living in Rockaway Township with the family of her best friend and fellow student Jaime Inglesino, whose father is attorney and former Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino. Inglesino is funding the lawsuit and hired attorney Helfand, who included in the lawsuit a request that the parents pay their daughter’s legal fees that so far total $12,597.

So this dude's daughters friend shows up at his house and he says, Of course you can stay with us! And while we're at it, lets sue your parents and I/my lawyer friends will make a shitload of money! Wheeee! Yeah, that's not shady AT ALL.

Woe to the people who try to come between my husband, myself and our son.  The last thing they would be getting is a monthly support check.

[VeryViolet]

I am not this girl's side but I have to imagine there is more to this story than is being portrayed in the article. I just don't see how it could escalate this far if some brat was just "I will show you mom and dad" at 18 years old.

Didn't someone post here recently that parents are required to provide for their children until 21 in some states and at least until they graduate high school in some regardless of when they turn 18. I am not sure the laws in the NJ but if that is the case her parents may at least be on the hook for something.

[leeann]

My parents didn't pay shit for my college, I didn't realize I was entitled to that.

I'd better sue them now, with interest.

[berbles]

Mar 3, 2014 15:04:53 GMT -5 nicbreeful said:

I'd be more understanding if she was just suing for the rest of her HS tuition to be paid (so that she could continue attending). But the fact that she is demanding her parents also pay for college.. Even if there IS more to the story, I don't see how she has any grounds to demand that. Even if they did kick her out.

College is a privilege, not a right. And I'm assuming there isn't anything stopping her from grants, loans, scholarships and part-time work to pay for it. I'm leaning towards her being a brat. I'll be interested to see what else comes out though.

The second article says she already received a $20k scholarship from a college.

ETA: "According to letters included with the lawsuit, Rachel has been accepted at the University of Vermont, William Paterson University, Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., and has applications pending to other institutions. She has been offered scholarships — including $20,000 a year to study at Wells — but also would be reliant on the college fund established by her parents and other financial aid and grants."

[Deleted]

Daughter sounds like an entitled twat. I wonder what the colleges will think of her when they get wind of this?

[miss1180]

Huh.... I have to read more about this. The HS she goes to is 5 minutes from my house...

I'm leaning toward her being a brat though- and her friend's lawyer father getting too involved

[dirtyred]

I read the article--it says CPS was called, made a house visit, and their conclusion was that Rachel was "spoiled" and they closed the case.

[hopecounts]

Mar 3, 2014 14:36:23 GMT -5 VeryViolet said:

I am not this girl's side but I have to imagine there is more to this story than is being portrayed in the article. I just don't see how it could escalate this far if some brat was just "I will show you mom and dad" at 18 years old.

Didn't someone post here recently that parents are required to provide for their children until 21 in some states and at least until they graduate high school in some regardless of when they turn 18. I am not sure the laws in the NJ but if that is the case her parents may at least be on the hook for something.

Bingo. In NJ (based on a quick google) a child turning 18 doesn't automatically end parental financial responsibility if kid is still in HS. 
So in this particular case in this particular state since the kid is still in school the parents may legally be on the hook until she graduates. 

[kirra]

She's being ridiculous, but I think they should have payed the rest of her high school tuition. The decision to put her in private school was theirs. Transferring to public in the middle of senior year would be complicated to say the least, and if she doesn't finish she can't go to college.