Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Turning over child support to the adult child

Yours is a case which calls for justice, but you can�t get it by altering past court orders for support. Basically there are four avenues which might bear fruit: 1) enforcement of the prior orders of support in your mom�s name; 2) a new filing in your mother�s name against your father for college support for you; 3) your own action (in your own name) to obtain a new judgment for past support against your dad with you as the recipient; or 3) your own filing (in your own name) against your father for college support.

Under Illinois law, generally, your mother is the proper party to bring a cause of action for past due support even though you have reached the age of majority. The issue is called �standing� � in other words, do YOU have �standing� to enforce the child-support orders entered in your parent�s divorce case? I could not find a case opinion which conclusively denies you standing, but there are many cases that say your mom has standing even though you are now an adult: It is well settled that past-due child-support payments are vested rights and the custodian of the child holds the right to collect the arrearage for child support. (Garrison v. Garrison, 99 Ill.App.3d 717, 425 N.E.2d 518 (1981); Lewis v. Lewis, 48 Ill.App.3d 281, 363 N.E.2d 106 (1977).) Even after the child reaches majority, the custodial parent does not lose the right to recover the arrearages which occurred during the child's minority. Sostak v. Sostak, 113 Ill.App.3d 954, 958 (1983); In re Marriage of McDavid, 97 Ill. App. 3d 1044, 1050 (1981); Lewis v. Staub, 95 Ill. App. 3d 243, 248 (1981); Dorsey v. Dorsey, 86 Ill.App.3d 1043, 408 N.E.2d 502 (1980); Fox v. Fox, 56 Ill.App.3d 446, 371 N.E.2d 1254 (1978).

In addition, your mother has the right to petition the court for college support for you. This is over and above the past-due support.

So, as you can see, your mom holds important cards as to both past-due support and college expenses for you. If, as you say, she is mentally ill, it is possible that she could be adjudicated as a disabled adult and a guardian could be appointed over her estate. That guardian would have the power to enforce past support, petition for college expenses in your mom�s name, or sign an assignment of interest over to you. In that regard, if your mom is not incompetent, you can seek from her an assignment of rights (or limited power of attorney) from her to you to get past support and file for college support.

The above relates to using your mom�s power (and name) to accomplish your goal. The last two alternatives are one�s in your own name. Getting a new judgment in your favor to cover past-due unpaid support, or a filing in your own name to get college help, would require you to file and proceed on a petition for such relief, and frankly, I don�t know whether you�ll succeed or whether the case would be thrown out for lack of standing. I recommend you seek the advice of a lawyer to help you in this.