Eighteen-year-old Rachel Canning made headlines in recent weeks when she sued her parents in New Jersey for a weekly allowance and private school and college tuition. Rachel claimed that she was entitled to support and tuition because her parents had kicked her out of their home. Her parents denied this allegation and stated that Rachel voluntarily left home because she did not want to follow their household rules.
Most objective observers of Canning’s law suit scratch their head at the audacity of this spoiled child and wonder how her claims against her parents could even be cognizable in court. The answer to this mystery lies in New Jersey’s child support laws. In the Garden State, parents are legally required to support their children until they emancipate. Emancipation in New Jersey, however, does not necessarily take place when a child reaches the age of majority. Emancipation in New Jersey takes place when a child has left “scope of his or her parent’s authority.” Depending upon the facts of the particular case, emancipation could take place before or after the age of eighteen. It is for this reason that a parent in New Jersey can, under some circumstances, be required to pay their children’s college education.
Nevada parents might wonder whether they could be subject to a similar law suit from their errant teenage children. The answer, for all intents and purposes, is no. Nevada parents can breathe a sigh of relief that their legal obligation to support children ends when the child turns eighteen or when the child turns nineteen or graduates from high school, whichever first occurs. Although a child might make a claim that she is entitled to the payment of her private high school tuition, such a claim would clearly be barred by operation of law when she turns nineteen. Additionally, in making such a claim, the child would confront an aspect of Nevada law that is unique among the 50 states. In Nevada, child support is subject to a presumptive maximum which, in some cases, makes a claim for private school tuition out of the question. As for seeking the payment of college tuition in Nevada, the claim is legally impossible.
In other words, Nevada parents are safe from the Rachel Cannings of the world because Nevada is not a sympathetic romper room for such courtroom drama.
This blog is brought to you by the Las Vegas divorce attorneys at Pecos Law Group.