Collins v. Mississippi Dep’t of Human Services (Mississippi 2017)

A parent’s obligation to support a child financially does not end even when their relationship has deteriorated due to extreme behavior from the child, especially when the parent also had a role in the decline of the relationship. The mother in this case appealed a child support order obligating her to pay support for her child with whom she no longer has a relationship. She argued the child’s extreme behaviors made a relationship with him impossible. The appellate court upheld the support order stating that evidence showed both the parent and the child had contributed to the decline of the relationship and noting that the mother wasn’t even aware of all the child’s behaviors when the original action was filed.