What happens when parents split up, but an adult child is still in need of financial support?
Typically, child support in California ends when the child turns 18, or 19 if the child is still attending high school. But when an older child is unable to take care of themselves financially, do parents have to pay child support? And how do you make sure that the support payment actually is used to take care of the child?
Adult dependent children
Parents have a duty to take care of their young children, and that means they have a financial obligation to support them as well. Sometimes divorcing parents voluntarily agree to split college costs for their children even after child support has ended, although it isn’t required by California law.
But when an adult child is incapacitated in some way, the California Family Code states that both parents are required to provide equal support for the child’s needs, to the extent that they can afford to. Case law has limited this duty to situations where the child’s inability to work and support themselves independently is beyond the child’s control.
Is it child support or alimony?
If the child is living with one of the parents, the court said it might be appropriate for the other parent to pay support directly to that parent, who is incurring expenses. In some situations, that parent might be the legal representative of the child, and would be handling the child’s finances anyway.
However, courts—and payors—want to make sure that child support actually benefits the child, not the other parent. Of course, certain expenses (like rent) might be intertwined. But courts want to distinguish child support and alimony, which have distinct purposes.
In re Marriage of Drake
A 2015 California case looked at a situation where a wealthy father had been ordered to pay child support to the mother, even though the adult child was living in a residential facility in another state—not with the mom. The California Court of Appeals ruled that it was appropriate for the father to be required to help support his adult son, who had been diagnosed with several mental health disorders and a drug abuse problem. The son’s mental health prevented him from working to support himself, and without parental support, he could potentially become a burden on the state.
Previous California case law has established that parents aren’t necessarily required to take on all the expenses that state or federal benefits pay for. In many situations, governmental benefits are essential for a disabled person’s health and well-being.
However, although the father needed to pay support, the court said that the mom shouldn’t receive the payments. Although her only income was a few hundred dollars a month in alimony, the court determined that she shouldn’t receive child support payments for a child who wasn’t even living with her. If her alimony wasn’t sufficient, that was a separate issue that she could bring up with the court. In that situation, the child support payments needed to go directly to the son, or to his legal representative who could handle his finances.
How is adult child support calculated in Southern CA?
According to the Drake case, the same guidelines for calculating child support apply regardless of the child’s age. But courts have the discretion to consider factors in the actual situation, not just rely on a one-size-fits-all formula. To learn more about child support guidelines, click here.
If you have questions you’d like to ask about paying adult child support in Southern California, contact Kendall Gkikas & Mitchell, LLP today. You can call 909-482-1422 or email us at info@parents4children.com to make an appointment.
