Are parents obligated to support adult disabled children?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Here—have at it: https://acl.gov/about-acl/administration-disabilities |
Anonymous
| What kind of person would abandon their child with special needs just because they're 18? Some people choose to send their child off to a group home. You can't just kick them out. Is your child able to live and function independently? I have no plans of ever sending my ASD child away. He will always be with family because he will always need our support. |
Anonymous
It sounds like legally, you can. |
Anonymous
I think people who do this are beyond burnt out or have their own issues such as untreated mental illness. A coworker said she would always keep her son at home, but he was taller than her by 12 and by 14, she could no longer physically redirect him. It was unsafe for everyone. Her DH had to quit his job to help out. A group home placement came as a blessing. But they had resources and time to plan. When my grandmother died, there was 24 hours to find a place for my uncle. |
Anonymous
|
Legally? No
Morally? Yes |
Anonymous
Legally but not morally. You have a moral obligation to set your child up for services, if you cannot or will not support them, so they can live in a safe environment (and I'll even go farther to say as enriching as possible) for the rest of their lives. |
Anonymous
New poster, not the PP to whom you're responding. I agree about the moral argument; however, there truly are situations where a person who needs help refuses it, refuses to cooperate with a parent or relative who is trying to "set [the 18+ person] up for services," refuses to stay in the home OR move to any other offered living situation, refuses any "safe environment" the family can find. That's why many such people end up homeless. Of course no parent or caregiver should simply throw a person out on the street but in cases where the person--an adult in the law's eyes--refuses help, and has the ability to walk out the door, there may only be so much the caregiver can do. The other case is when an adult child is dangerous to the parents or siblings etc. and the family has to cut ties or risk real violence. At least in those cases, police intervention in a violent incident could lead to he person being evaluated and placed in "the system" of somewhat forced care. But if the person is a legal adult with just enough wherewithal to refuse services, and there aren't issues like violence, the family may have extreme difficulty meeting that moral obligation of getting the loved one into a safe environment. |
Anonymous
|
Wrong wrong wrong
You can go to jail for abandoning a vulnerable person of any age. |
Anonymous
If that’s the case, then every adult in the household can be legally liable. Not just the parents. An 18 year old twin sibling. A grandparent who is 70 and retired. An adult housemate. Are they obliged if the parent walks away? |
Anonymous
This isn’t a law. |
Anonymous
|
It depends on the state. In some states, you have to support your disabled adult child. In most states, you don't.
https://specialneedsanswers.com/am-i-legally-required-to-support-my-adult-child-with-disabilities-maybe-17044 |
Anonymous
|
No, I seriously doubt after eighteen a parent is obligated to do anything for their child.
Unless they are the conservator of the person. However morally many people may think that any parent who abandons their disabled child as an adult may have a special seat in H E (double hockey stick). |
Anonymous
+1. I couldn’t sleep at night otherwise. |
Anonymous
The places to live have decades long waiting lists, however priority goes to those who are homeless. So, if you want your child to move to the top of the list (still can take years) you have to kick them out and make them homeless. |
Anonymous
Yes, they would go to a homeless shelter. |