The Supreme Judicial Court has previously ruled that existing child support orders remain in force after a father dies. Today, the court expanded that decision, ruling that a father’s estate is subject to child support orders when none existed prior to death.
I’m not much of one to quote the Bible in terms of child support or family law or the whole situation of our society. This has nothing to do with religious faith; I just don’t see why God should be dragged into the quagmires we as human beings create in our freedom. But this almost begs for a comparison and contrast. Any of you who have been in Sunday school remember the story of the prodigal son. The prodigal son asked his father to split his inheritance before he died so he could go live it up. The son soon blew through the money and was forced to get a job feeding the pigs. Embarassed and humiliated by his behavior, the son returned home hoping to at least get a job with the servants.
We all know the details of what happened after that. The father forgave the son and welcomed him back into the family with open arms (to the chagrin of the son who stayed), and the son was once again part of the family unit. Now, let’s examine what would have happened had that tale happened in today’s society. My guess is that it would have gone down as follows.
1. The son (and/or his mother) rather than going back to the father to beg for forgiveness, would have gone to the courts to order the father to support his children. 2. The courts then would have found that the father was responsible for his son even when the son went off on his own and thus was liable for back child support 3. The courts would have also said that he was responsible for an amount imputed on his income before he divided it between the two sons. 4. Facing huge child support arrears and penalties, the father would have had to take the job feeding the pigs in order to make ends meet.
No good deed goes unpunished, ladies and gentlemen, and the above story illustrates that. The father voluntarily supports his child and the court decides that they will hold onto the child support even after he has shuffled off this mortal coil. Way to go, family court system. Polite golf clap, everybody.
Previous
Index
Next
Flat
Death, taxes, and child support
Edit
Reply
Quote
