General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 18 year old sues parents for kicking her out and not paying her tuition [View all]bravenak
(34,648 posts)If they put it in a gift account for her she should have access to it upon reaching her majority. It's unlikely that it was done that way, as she can't access it now.
Usually parents put money into an account that is in their own name to be used for college with tax benefits, if it's not used in the correct manner they would just have to pay the appropriate taxes and they can use it as they see fit.
If she feels that the money was an unconditional gift, she would have the burden of proving that in court, and the documents for that account and her parents tax forms would show that it was gifted over to her and taxed accordingly.
As far as owing for her transportation, and money for living expenses while staying at her friends house as an 18 year old woman, I don't believe she has a case at all. She is seeking more money than some people make in a year just on lawyers fees.
When I was 18 I saved up 1500 bucks working at a market research firm to buy a 1990 ford escort, and I kept it for a couple of years. If she needs a car to get around she may need to consider working for it as many youth do today. It's hard, but worth it to be able to do as you please.
If you and your parents dont get along, you can't expect them to pay your way through life. Sometimes parents are cruel and won't pay for college even if they can afford it. Just because they have the money, doesn't mean they have to spend it on her. They may want to just put it away for retirement so they won't need her to care for them. If this is how they act, they better be putting the money away for the future, because if doesn't look like they will have much help coming from the daughter they dont like.