LISA LLEWELYN VS. JAMES SHEWCHUK A-0596-13T1

LISA LLEWELYN VS. JAMES SHEWCHUK
          A-0596-13T1

In this case, we consider whether an adult child made a sufficient showing that she is not emancipated and entitled to continued support from her father, who had adopted her at an early age and later became divorced from her mother. The daughter voluntarily left her mother's home at the age of twenty to live with her biological father, obtained part-time employment, sporadically attended school and arranged for her support in reliance upon the financial relationship she entered into with her biological father and his wife, who were under no obligation to support the daughter. We reject the daughter's argument she is not emancipated and that she has not moved beyond her parents' sphere of influence or responsibility or obtained an independent status of her own. While we recognize a child's right to pursue support from a parent, even if the child no longer resides with either, we affirm the Family Part's order, granting the father's motion to terminate child support because his adult daughter was emancipated.