Recently, the Massachusetts Appeals
Court ruled in the case of Vaida v. Vaida, Mass. App. Ct. No.
13–P–1827 (November 6, 2014) that a father did not have to pay
child support for his adult physically disabled child. At first
glance, this case seems to establish that a physically disabled child
can't collect child support once the child reaches age 23. A closer
examination convinces me that this case should not be considered
precedent.
In Vaida, the child was a quadriplegic
as a result of reckless conduct of the father. The father had been
sued and settled the case for 3.5 million dollars. A settlement
agreement and releases were executed. The prior settlement is a
barrier to collecting child support from the father. Will the result
be the same if there is no prior settlement?
Massachusetts allows child support to
be collected for an adult child that is under a mental disability and
has a court appointed guardian. Feinberg v. Diamant, 378 Mass. 131
(1979) and Eccleston v. Bankosky, 438 Mass. 428 (2003). With both
mentally disabled children and physically disabled children the
children need to be supported by others. In both cases, the children
are unable to earn sufficient money to support themselves. The
children must be supported by either the parents or government. If
the parents have the ability to support the adult children, then they
should do so instead of having taxpayers paying for the care of the
children. I see no logical reason for parents of mentally disabled
children to pay child support but not parents of physically disabled
children.
There is a legal maxim that states “bad
facts make bad law.” The Vaida case contains bad facts of the
prior settlement. Hopefully, the next time that a case with this
issue is litigated the courts will give the question a fresh look and
not rely on the Vaida case. If you have a case involving an adult
disabled child you should consult an experienced family law attorney.
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