Indiana Law options for pregnant stepdaughter we pay support for

[stepmom99]

OK...my husband pays support via a voluntary payroll deduction each pay period for my step daughter who lives in Indiana.  We do not live there anymore.  She is 17 and lived with us for for 3 years before returning to her mothers 2 years ago.  She informed me today that she is pregnant and the"baby daddy" wants nothing to do with her. My husband is required by the support order to provide medical insurance and payment of uncovered charges for her....will this include the bills associated with the baby???  Is there a legal avenue to hold her mother accountable, since the pregnancy occurred on "her watch"?  She is the custodial parent who allows my stepdaughter to roam freely.  She has been expelled from school, in trouble with the law , and almost put into Juvie while back at her mothers......HELP ME!  What if anything can we do?

Thanks :)

[RN069]

Just a thought, wonder if you could have her emicapated as a adult. Seems to me you could, but I dunno. Hopefully some one here can help you with some advice on what to do. Hope everything works out.

[Giggles]

However, the child suport order is for the daughter...NOT the baby.  The daughter may be eligible for welfare benefits.  Too sad of a situation...but happens soo often.  Let G'ma foot the bills for the baby and have them go after "baby daddy" for it's Child support!

IV. BECOMING PREGNANT OR HAVING A CHILD AS EMANCIPATION

While getting married constitutes an emancipation, getting pregnant and having a child does NOT constitute emancipation. The difference, reason the courts, is that in the former situation, there is an intent to substitute the parents' support for the new spouse's support, while in the latter situation, there is no intent to rid oneself of the support of the parents. In fact, in most of these cases, the pregnant child continues to live with the custodial parent and continues to depend on support from the custodial and/or non-custodial parent. In re Marriage of Clay, 670 P.2d 31 (Colo. Ct. app. 1983) (daughter not emancipated where she continued to live with her mother and depend on her for support); Doerrfeld v. Konz, 524 So. 2d 1115 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988) (minor daughter in high-school, living with her mother, was not emancipated due to pregnancy); Hicks v. Fulton County Dept. of Family & Children Services, 155 Ga. App. 1, 270 S.W.2d 254 (1980) (pregnant minor still dependent on mother's Social Security benefits); In re George, 6 Kan. App.2d 336, 988 P.2d 251 (1999) (child who quit school on her 16th birthday and then had a baby was not emancipated; child still lives with her mother and depends on her for financial support); Town of Brunswick v. LaPrise, 262 A.2d 366 (Me. 1970) (father held liable for daughter's support; fact that she was pregnant could not relieve his responsibility); Randolph v. Randolph, 26 Fam. L. Rep. (BNA) 1070 (Mo. Ct. App. Nov. 30, 1999) (17-year-old girl who moved out of parents' home after an argument, lived with boyfriend, quit school, worked at various jobs for six months, became pregnant, and then returned home was not emancipated); French v. French, 599 S.W.2d 40 (Mo. Ct. App. 1980) (pregnant daughter's receipt of AFDC benefits did not constitute new status inconsistent with continued control and support by daughter's parents); Wulff v. Wulff, 243 Neb. 616, 500 N.W.2d 845 (1993) (where daughter returned to her mother's home after she had a baby and broke up with her boyfriend, daughter was not emancipated); Bickford v. Bickford, 55 A.D.2d 719, 389 N.Y.S.2d 430 (3d Dep't 1976) (New York's Social Services Law mandates support for child until age 21 where the child is receiving public assistance and contains no exception for emancipation due to pregnancy); Thompson v. Thompson, 94 Misc. 2d 911, 405 N.Y.S.2d 974 (Fam. Ct. 1978) (pregnant daughter had not abandoned her mother's home and was thus not emancipated); see also Nuckols v. Nuckols, 12 Ohio App. 3d 94, 467 N.E.2d 259 (1983) (daughter who was pregnant was emancipated by her 18th birthday, not by her pregnancy).

On the other hand, moving out of the parents' house and into an apartment, setting up housekeeping with a partner, and having a baby can be emancipation, because the totality of the circumstances shows an intent to be free of the parents' custody, control, and support. Champagne v. Passons, 95 Cal. App. 15, 272 P. 353 (1928) (daughter had child, was engaged to child's father, spent every weekend with him, and opened joint checking account with him); Town v. Anonymous, 39 Conn. Supp. 35, 467 A.2d 687 (1983) (sixteen-year-old girl who became pregnant and moved from her parents' home to her boyfriend's home was emancipated); Rennie v. Rennie, 718 So. 2d 1091 (Miss. 1998); Parker v. Stage, 43 N.Y.S.2d 128, 400 N.Y.S.2d 794 (1977) (eighteen-year-old pregnant girl who moved out of parents' home to live with boyfriend forfeited right to parental support).