An 18-year-old high school student in New Jersey is going to court to force her parents to pay for her high school and future college education after they cast her out of their home last fall. But her parents say that she's out of luck because she wasn't very respectful of their rules.
According to the Daily Record, "Rachel Canning filed a certification with the court that contends her parents jointly decided on Oct. 29, 2013 that as of Nov. 1 — her 18th birthday — she would be cut off 'from all support both financially and emotionally.' She said in her papers that Morris Catholic advised her not to return home and contacted the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency (known as DCP&P and formerly as DYFS) after Rachel alleged abuse."
She said, "My parents have rationalized their actions by blaming me for not following their rules. 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 a punishment."
Rachel has been living with a friend's family since the fall, and the friend's father is paying for the lawyer. Her father, Sean Canning, argued, "We love our child and miss her. 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,'" adding that Rachel didn't abide by curfew, bullied her siblings and wouldn't considering dumping her boyfriend.
Rachel, an honors student at Morris Catholic, was accepted to numerous colleges and needs to put a deposit on one soon. Plus, she can no longer attend Morris Catholic, because her parents stopped paying the tuition. The school had also contacted NJ child protection services after faculty noticed "difficult" and "rough" interactions between the teen and her parents. But Sean Canning says the investigation was ended when it was determined Rachel was just "spoiled."
Rachel is hoping to be declared "non-emancipated" and "dependent" on her parents, the Record reports. Also, just because a child turns 18 does not automatically mean NJ parents can stop financial supporting him/her. A family law attorney, Sheldon Simon, said, "A child is not emancipated until they’re on their own. Even if a child and the parents don’t get along, that doesn’t relieve the parents of their responsibility."
