18-year-old sues her parents

[redheadbaker]

WTF makes her think that her parents are required to pay her college tuition??

New Jersey High School Student Sues Parents for 'Abandonment' After Being Kicked Out of Family Home at Age 18

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.

[Deleted]

I'm team parents on this from the article..

[laurenpetro]

i'm going to start with the fact that this girl is from Morristown as the top of the list of reasons she feels entitled to have her parents pay for her.

[madisen]

Affluenza is now a legitimate defense...she might actually win.

[elleblue]

Um yeah. No.

[mcsangel2]

I'm team parents, but I want to know why they haven't paid the tuition to the HS. The dad admitted to it without an explanation.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I think its problematic they haven't paid her HS tuition. The rest, not so much.

[Deleted]

Mar 3, 2014 17:06:00 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

I'm team parents, but I want to know why they haven't paid the tuition to the HS. The dad admitted to it without an explanation.

I wonder if she hasn't been going. 

It sounds like she's been an asshole and a half for quite a while now and her parents aren't having it. Live here and behave decently so you can have our financial support or go your own way.

The fact that her parents are couching their disapproval in fairly generic terms is making me think they are the sane ones here. Because I suspect that there's a lot of a story to tell here.

[mouse]

This references a college fund. If its something they set up, I think they get to yank it. But does it include money given to her by relatives or that she contributed? Because I'd think that might be a grey area.

[Alyssa]

Yes she's 18, yes she's a spoiled little shit. But I don't get why they stopped with the HS funding.

[laurenpetro]

Why is she even suing them for her high school tuition? She's not on the hook for it. Her parents signed into the agreement directly with her school. They're not going to kick get out. They'll make the parents settle the tab before they let her graduate.

[aurora]

Another vote for the parents (according to the information in this article).

I don't quite understand what it means that she hasn't been emancipated yet. Isn't that what happens, or at least can happen, as soon as you turn 18? Are parents legally obligated to provide for 18-year-old children ever? I'm not saying it's necessarily a good parenting move in general to kick out your 18-year-old who is still in high school (though it may be in this case), just wondering in general about the law.

[Deleted]

Mar 3, 2014 18:02:31 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

Why is she even suing them for her high school tuition? She's not on the hook for it. Her parents signed into the agreement directly with her school. They're not going to kick get out. They'll make the parents settle the tab before they let her graduate.

She turned 18 in November. I wonder if she stopped going to school then or if they said live at home and go to fancy private school or live elsewhere and enroll public.

[cattledogkisses]

Team parents, based on the information given.

Being 18 doesn't make you an independent adult; being able to support yourself financially does. When I was her age, I knew that as long as my parents were still supporting me financially, I had to play by their rules. You don't get to play the "independent adult" card while someone else is still footing your bills.

[katfco]

It's possible they decided to stop paying in order to teach her what "you're an adult" really means. She won't live by their rules, then she won't get financial support from them. If she was in college they likely would have stopped paying her tuition.

I do wonder if they were in part motivated to stop paying because the school called child services on them--at their daughter's accusation. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2572315/High-school-cheerleader-18-sues-retired-police-chief-father-college-tuition-legal-fees-kicks-refusing-live-rules.html

This article says the school was encouraging her to leave. www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/03/student-sues-parents-college-tuition/5967279/

[orangeblossom]

Mar 3, 2014 18:02:42 GMT -5 aurora said:

Another vote for the parents (according to the information in this article).

I don't quite understand what it means that she hasn't been emancipated yet. Isn't that what happens, or at least can happen, as soon as you turn 18? Are parents legally obligated to provide for 18-year-old children ever? I'm not saying it's necessarily a good parenting move in general to kick out your 18-year-old who is still in high school (though it may be in this case), just wondering in general about the law.

I think there are still rules about kids being 18 and still in school, which we'll see more and more of, with all of the redshirting going on these days. Don't quote me, but I remember asking my SIL about this, since my nephew was 18 going into his senior year.

[pyramidsloth]

Team parents all the way. This girl sounds almost exactly the way my brother was in high school. An entitled asshole who felt he was "above" rules and expectations. 

[emilyj]

She sounds like a darling angel.

Unless something else comes out, team parents.

[Deleted]

I'm guessing they are all crazy.

[ringstrue]

Something makes me feel like this all stems from boyfriend issues.

[Velvetshady]

Team parents. And I don't even have an issue with them not paying HS tuition--there is no law I've ever heard of that requires parents to pay for private school.

[Deleted]

Medication?

[pretzel]

That area has some of the best public school systems in the country. She can suck it up and go to *gasp* public school!

[SallyJ]

I cannot imagine how difficult she has just made her own life. Can you imagine what future employers will think when they google her name?

[Deleted]

Can we talk about the parents of her bff? There is no way I would bankroll my daughter's friend as she behaves like a fool all the way down to finding her a lawyer. Because you know they did. There is no way this girl woke up on her own and decided to go find a lawyer.

I'd also bet money these parents are paying the legal fees and expect to be paid back when she wins. Somehow I don't think a lawyer saw this case and decided to go contingency. But feel free to correct me.

[sushi]

I know that at least according to social security, you're not independent at 18 as long as you're still in high school. I don't know if the same rules apply for emancipation.

A friend of mine was kicked out of her aunt's house midway through her senior year. The aunt also tried to bill her for all living expenses for the previous 2 years. This wasn't because my friend was bad but rather because aunt wanted to move to another state where her boyfriend was. My friend had to move in with a family from church.

So I don't doubt that some guardians can be complete assholes.

I also don't doubt that some teens can be complete assholes.

Really, I have no idea what to make of this story.

[Cicero]

Do you guys remember the 16 year old who sued her parents for the return of her beanie baby collection after she married her 40 year old teacher?

[Deleted]

Mar 3, 2014 22:49:42 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Do you guys remember the 16 year old who sued her parents for the return of her beanie baby collection after she married her 40 year old teacher?

Noooooooooooooooooo!

[Cicero]

Mar 3, 2014 22:52:27 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

Mar 3, 2014 22:49:42 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Do you guys remember the 16 year old who sued her parents for the return of her beanie baby collection after she married her 40 year old teacher?

Noooooooooooooooooo!

Her case was dismissed after about seven seconds. I think her name was Windy something? It was in the mid 2000s.

[gpw]

lol! "Windy"....