The way this world works is that often people who are literally destined to become great parents cannot become them for biological reasons. At the same time, there are people next to them who give birth to children without caring about them at all. And it's good if there is a responsible relative nearby who can get themselves involved.
The story we are going to tell you today is exactly of this kind. Its author, the user u/Free-Net6456, sued his addict sister for custody of her daughter many years ago, and now the question of child support has arisen.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post has a younger sister who is a longtime addict and once even got arrested for a felony
Image credits: Tim Mossholder / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The man was the only relative who got involved in the life of the sister's 10-year-old daughter
Image credits: Free-Net6456
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
So after some time of living with her, he understood how difficult her life with her mom was, and filed for custody
Image credits: Free-Net6456
Image credits: KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The mom didn't give up, but the man won this process and then filed for child support as well
Image credits: Free-Net6456
The relatives tried to coax him to cancel child support, but the man was adamant as he wanted this money for his niece's future
So, the Original Poster (OP) is a 34-year-old man, whose sister, two years younger, is a longtime addict and at one time even got arrested for a felony. With all the ensuing consequences. But the main problem was not even this, but the fact that the sister had a 10-year-old daughter, and none of the relatives wanted to step up.
In short, our hero intervened, and the girl started to live with him. Over time, realizing how difficult her life with an abusive mom was, the uncle decided to formalize guardianship. The girl was not against it, but the mother resisted and initiated a legal fight. Which the author eventually won - albeit having spent a hefty amount of money on it.
And so, over time, the author found out that, according to the law, he had the right to demand child support from the hapless mom - and he really claimed it. Even despite understanding perfectly well that it was unlikely that his sister, even if she'd allegedly gotten rid of her addiction to substances, would be able to pay this money.
The uncle remained adamant even in the face of numerous pleas and demands from relatives who claimed that his sister had reformed and gotten on the right path, and that it would be the right step on his part to cancel child support. However, after some time, the woman was caught committing illegal actions again - so the OP was once again convinced that he was right not to give in to the numerous persuasions.
Image credits: Karolina Kaboompics / Pexels (not the actual photo)
According to UNICEF data, in 2023 there were nearly 12.9 million custodial parents in the United States, which is almost 4% of the total population. At the same time, almost half (or more precisely, 49.4%) of all custodial parents had a court order, child support award, or other agreements over financial support from the noncustodial parent. So, as we can see, the author is far from alone here.
At the same time, situations where non-biological parents of a child act as guardians are also quite common, although not very frequent. "In some cases, custody may be awarded to a non-parent family member, such as a grandparent or other close relative, if it is deemed to be in the best interests of the child," the Harr Law Firm official website states.
"Statistics indicate that non-parental custody arrangements account for only about 4% of all custody cases. These arrangements often arise in situations where both parents are deemed unfit or unable to provide a stable and nurturing environment for the child."
As for the commenters on the original post, they massively supported the author, claiming that he did nothing wrong here. "The money isn't for you, it's for your daughter. Don't give up her entitlement to support, even if you save it for her education," one of the responders wrote absolutely reasonably.
People in the comments also advised the original poster to invest this money in the future of his niece (an idea somewhat similar to this grandma's concept from our other story). "I'd just put everything in a trust fund for her to get when she's off to uni to make her life more comfortable. Never EVER give up her claim to that money," another person summarized. So what is your point of view on this situation?
Most of the commenters told the author to not give up and praised him for being a decent uncle really concerned about the girl's well-being
