KIMBERLY HUNT, APPELLANT,
v.
STEVEN A. HUNT, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A mother cannot contract away her child's social security disability benefits in exchange for the father relinquishing parental rights, as such benefits are inalienable and the mother holds them in trust for the child's benefit.
A parent cannot contract away or waive a child's right to receive social security disability benefits, even in exchange for relinquishment of parental rights.
[1] A parent cannot contract away or waive a child's inalienable right to receive social security disability benefits, and a parent receiving such benefits holds them in trus…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe father of a child receiving social security disability benefits agreed to give up his parental rights so the child could be adopted by the mother'…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Trust Relationship cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The child of the parties to this appeal receives social security benefits as a result of the father’s disability. See 42 U.S.C. § 402(d)(1); 20 C.F.R. § 404.352(b).
In return for the father giving up his parental rights so that the child could be adopted by the mother’s fiancé, the mother contracted away the child’s right to receive the disability benefits. Under the social security law, adoption is not an event that results in the termination of a child’s benefits. The child’s right to the social security benefits may not be waived by a parent or contracted away. See Ford v. Ford, 816 So. 2d 1193, 1195 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (concerning child support); Gammon v. Cobb, 335 So. 2d 261, 266-67 (Fla.1976) (concerning an illegitimate child’s right to support).
The mother was in the position of a “trustee to receive” the disability payments and “convert them into relief’ for the child. Gammon, 335 So. 2d at 267. The mother was not empowered to contract away the child’s benefits. We therefore reverse that portion of the court’s order requiring the mother to remit to the father the funds she receives from social security. Nothing in this opinion precludes the parties from entering into another financial agreement.
POLEN, GROSS and MAY, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Gammon v. Cobb, 335 So. 2d 261 (Fla. 1976)
- Loraine Clark Ford v. Ford, 816 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)