What Can Be Done?

[gw]

I just found out that my 18 year old daughter (senior in high school) moved out of the CP's house in August on her 18th birthday.  She is living with a friend and not receiving any financial support from her mom and the mom is still collecting child support from me.

I had called the County to find out where she was living and where she was attending high school and the County told me that since she was 18 she had a right to privacy and it was none of my business.  Per my previous post, she is still considered a child by MN Statute since she is in high school.

Unknown to me, after she turned 18, my daughter went to the County and requested that my support payments be made directly to her and the County informed her it was none of her business, the Order was between the CP, NCP and the Court and that payments would continue to go to the CP.

Is this action considered in "the best interest of the child"?

Is there anything that can be done to make the CP pay the money she has received since August be paid back to the child or back to the friend where she is living?

If I have to pay support until she finishes high school (June), shouldn't the mother also have to pay a share of her income to the friend taking care of our child?

Are the CP and the County liable for hiding this information from me?

Thanks.

[socrateaser]

>Is this action considered in "the best interest of the
>child"?

At the moment, this is irrelevant. If you have a court order in force, and money is being paid to the CP, even though the CP no longer exercises custody, then file a motion to terminate support.

>
>Is there anything that can be done to make the CP pay the
>money she has received since August be paid back to the child
>or back to the friend where she is living?

No.

>
>If I have to pay support until she finishes high school
>(June), shouldn't the mother also have to pay a share of her
>income to the friend taking care of our child?

I'd say you have a good argument, but if you don't file a motion to modify support, you'll never know.

>
>Are the CP and the County liable for hiding this information
>from me?

The CP, maybe, but you'd have to prove that CP was actually hiding the info.

As for the county, forget about it.

[Hazel]

Hi,
I don't mean to be a buttinski, but I'm knee deep in "18 year old blues" myself at this point so maybe I can help a little.

I'm from Illinois, and unfortunately for you, your state's laws are similar to mine.  You may be on the hook until she graduates, regardless of where she lives.  Minnesota does not recognize 18 year olds as emancipated adults until graduation.  At most, you may be able to get the support money paid directly to your daughter or to her caregivers, but I doubt they'll let you stop paying.  (See the following link, and pay special attention to "D. Age of Majority" see #D5 specifically.)

 http://ocse3.acf.dhhs.gov/ext/irg/sps/report.cfm?State=MN&CFID=366119&CFTOKEN=59894254

I totally agree with Soc that you should file a motion to terminate, just don't get your hopes up.  :(

Best of Luck,
Hazel

[gw]

Actions might factor into being emancipated (especially when the person is 18 and no longer considered a minor)?  

My daughter hasn't lived in the CP home for six months and won't even talk to the CP.

I would be fine with my CS going directly to my daughter until she graduates high school but I still feel a CS Order should also be established so that the CP has to pay too.  

[Hazel]

Believe me, I completely agree with you!... But if you look at the link I provided, you'll see that Illinois and Minnesota do not require that a "child" be living in the parental home in order to collect Support, so the CP could possibly walk away scott free with the past 6 months worth of CS. The OCSE site also says that moving out of the parental home does not constitute emancipation.  Perhaps, if there's wording in your decree that CP must keep you informed of any changes in child's residence you may be able to recoup the overpayment based on the fact that CP collected it fraudulently, but then I suppose you'd have to prove that she intentionally mislead you into thinking the child was still living there....  

It's pretty clear by the OCSE site that emancipation does not take place until graduation, IF even THEN...  I wholeheartedly disagree with this.  If the government has its way, nobody will EVER be emancipated!!!  I thought I'd seen everything there is to see regarding CS laws, but now that I'm into this college stuff, nothing surprises me anymore.  :(  To have a situation where a minor can move from a parent's home and still receive support... Well let's just imagine OUR parents paying support to US if we decided to move in with a friend!!!  LOL, I can most assuredly say that would never have flown...  Illinois and some other states are doing everything they can to remove any and all criteria for emancipation.  In Illinois, a minor isn't emancipated until they receive a Bachelor's degree.  :o  It is beyond ridiculous.

I suppose I'm quite jaded at this point, but I don't think you should make the mistake of thinking that the courts care about what's right , decent or sensible.  They will look at the absolute wording of your divorce decree, along with the absolute letter of the law.  "Right" and "Wrong" seldom factor into the equation.

You are absolutely right that the CP should be paying, and you absolutely should file a motion to terminate.  Please keep us posted, I'd like to hear what you find out about this.  I sincerely hope my hunches are wrong.  I could use a ray of hope.

Best Regards,
Hazel