#Bar access of parent to child code#

It doesn’t seem to matter, nor it is likely to, that the incapacitation arose before or after the child reached the age of majority. The statute does not distinguish between incapacitating physical, mental, emotional, or other conditions. Section 3910(a) sets out one aspect of the adult children it entitles to support with the very broad phrase, “incapacitated form earning a living.” On its face, this language could mean anything from a vegetative coma, to imprisonment, to post-traumatic stress disorder, and everything and anything in between. What Does it Mean for a Child to be “Incapacitated from Earning a Living”? Section 4000 also authorizes one parent to sue the other to establish and enforce the duty to support their adult, incapacitated children. Section 4000 therefore authorizes an adult, disabled child, through a guardian ad litem, to sue his or her parent or parents for support. If a parent has the duty to provide for the support of the parent’s child and willfully fails to so provide, the other parent, or the child by a guardian ad litem, may bring an action against the parent to enforce the duty. The vehicle to enforce the duty imposed by section 3910(a) is section 4000.

#Bar access of parent to child code#

Former Civil Code section 206 provided, “It is the duty of the father, the mother, and the children of any person in need who is unable to maintain himself by work, to maintain such person to the extent of their ability.” Former Civil Code section 242 defined “child” as “a son or daughter under the age of 18 years and a son or daughter of whatever age who is incapacitated from earning a living and without sufficient means.” Civil Code sections 206 and 242 and Family Code section 3910(a) all derive from Elizabethan Poor Law and codify the (perhaps arguable) moral duty of parents of means to keep their incapacitated, poor, adult children from becoming burdens on society. ( Id.)įamily Code section 3910(a) is a melding of former California Civil Code sections 206 and 242. ( Id.) The parent’s or parents’ ability to support the child is only relative to the subsequent question of the amount of support each parent must provide. Swoap (1975) 48 Cal.App.3d 431, 437.) Rather, the existence of the duty turns on the child’s means and ability to support himself or herself. The ability of either parent to support the child does not impact the existence of the parent’s or parents’ duty of support. Under section 3910(a), the duty of support arises when a child cannot support himself or herself, and is without other means of support. 352, 354-355.) The estates of deceased parents are not immune, as the adult child support obligation imposed by section 3910(a) survives each parent’s death just as it would with a minor child. Section 3910(a) therefore imposes a joint and several duty on mothers and fathers to support their poor, incapacitated children, no matter how old. The father and mother have an equal responsibility to maintain, to the extent of their ability, a child of whatever age who is incapacitated from earning a living and without sufficient means. Overview of California Family Code section 3910(a)Ĭalifornia Family Code section 3910(a) provides,

Kanye West famously warned, “18 years, 18 years, she got one of your kids, got you for 18 years.” Kanye was wrong. Only, More Expensive: A Primer on California Family Code section 3910(a), the Most Terrifying, Most Common Sense Law You’ve Never Heard Of, but Should Have