dysfunctional family

You knew that it was just a matter of time before something like this happened, but it’s still a bit hard to believe. Rachel Canning, an 18 year-old girl from New Jersey is suing her parents saying that they kicked her out of the house at 18, and they are refusing to pay for her private high school and college education. She’s demanding the following:

• Her parents pay the remaining tuition for her private high school
• Her parents pay both her transportation and living expenses for the foreseeable future
• Her parents turn over her existing college fund to pay for her college education
• Her parents pay all of her legal bills

The judge has already denied the teen her request for high school tuition and her current living expenses. There is a court date hearing set for April that will take up the question of whether or not the parents must pay for the college costs. As would be expected, both sides have quite different views about what’s going on. These are the basic arguments from both sides in the case:

The Teen

Rachel Canning claims that she was kicked out of the house at 18 even though she is a cheerleader and honors student, in part because her parents didn’t like her boyfriend. She also alleges that they have been abusive toward her. Without the money from her parents, she won’t have the means to attend college where she hopes to study biomedical engineering.

The Parents

Sean and Elizabeth Canning claim that their daughter wasn’t kicked out of the house, but she chose to leave in October because she didn’t like to live by the rules that they had implemented. This included missing curfews and getting suspended from school.

Not surprisingly, this is how the judge reacted to the case:

So the question becomes, are children entitled to a college degree paid for by their parents? Is a college education the responsibility of the parents in this day and age? Or is this a situation where some kids continue to be self-indulgent when they become adults and refuse to take the responsibility that they need to take?

Another question that will surely be debated in this case is who is to blame? This can readily be seen in the video clip where the lawyer argues that it’s the parents who have created the atmosphere for all this to happen. Is the teen simply spoiled on her own accord in believing that she is deserving of this, or are the parents partially to blame since they played a part in instilling these feelings while she was growing up?

What is your opinion? Once teens hit 18 and become legal adults, are they on their own, or do parents still have some financial responsibilities even after their kids become legal adults? Since the family set up a college fund for her, does that money have to be spent on her college, or can the parents decide to not give it if they change their mind? If the child was told that she would have this college money and it still exists, does she have a reasonable expectation that she should get it?