Growing up with a loving father is not a luxury every kid can experience. In fact, in the U.S., 26% of adult children say they’ve experienced a period of estrangement from their fathers. A lot can happen during that period, and when the father comes back asking for something, the child might not respond the way he hopes.
This father reached out to his 29-year-old daughter for some money. When she refused, he had a brilliant idea: take her to court and sue her for CA$85k. He failed to consider that the judge would side with his daughter and his ridiculous beggar request would backfire on him spectacularly.
A woman received a ridiculous request from her estranged father
After years of no contact, he asked her for money, and when she refused, he decided to sue her
In Canada, parents might need to pay child support even in the kid’s 20s
Traditionally, we’re used to thinking that a person becomes an adult at around 18. That’s when they’re supposed to start living like a grown-up: make their own money, find where to live, and become a responsible adult.
However, even legally, many parents remain financially responsible for their children into their 20s. In Canada, for example, a parent might need to pay child support even after a child reaches adulthood. If they’re attending university or another post-secondary institution, parents still have to provide for them: they’re still considered a “dependent.”
It’s not unusual for Canadian courts to enforce child support until a child turns 22 or even 24. From the story, it seems like the OP’s sister is still young and qualifies for this. So, the father isn’t the one who should be suing his daughters for money — quite the opposite.
In fact, he might need to pay child support retroactively if he hasn’t done so in the past. According to the experts at Shim Law, “courts may order retroactive support when a parent failed to pay support entirely or did not pay the proper amount based on their income.”
Courts determine whether retroactive child support needs to be paid by looking at these three criteria:
- how much the parent was earning during the relevant years
- what the Federal Child Support Guidelines were for each of those years
- and the difference between what should have been paid and what was paid.
Children of immigrant parents often feel the obligation to take care of them financially once they become adults
A father might leave a child while they’re still young, but when an adult child decides they no longer want to be in contact with the parent, their decision is often very firm. A YouGov poll in 2025 found that children are more likely to initiate estrangement from parents than vice versa. Parents and grandparents often expect reconciliation, too, but only 35% of adults say they would consider reconciling with their estranged parent.
Such was the case in this story: the father came to his daughter for financial help. In the context of immigrant families, that can be quite expected: research shows that children are often expected to take care of their parents financially when they become adults.
In the U.S. and most of the Western world, it’s the opposite: parents provide for their children well into adulthood, nowadays even when they’re in their 20s or 30s. But children of immigrants feel the duty to “give back” once they move out of their parents’ home.
Assistant professor of sociology at Washington State University, Vanessa Delgado, has found that children of undocumented immigrants feel an even bigger obligation to do so. “[They] are more likely to give direct cash transfers, pay household bills, develop financial plans for homeownership and retirement, open credit cards on behalf of parents, take on debt, and worry about their parents’ financial futures.”
Of course, that might happen more often in families where both parents have been present. It’s understandable why an adult whose father has been absent from their life and their siblings’ lives wouldn’t feel obligated to help in any way.
People in the comments wondered where the father got the ridiculous idea from
In an update, the daughter detailed what finally happened in court
In Canada, parents might need to pay child support even in the kid’s 20s
- how much the parent was earning during the relevant years
- what the Federal Child Support Guidelines were for each of those years
- and the difference between what should have been paid and what was paid.
Children of immigrant parents often feel the obligation to take care of them financially once they become adults
“If you poke the bear too often, the bear will poke you back,” commenters joked about how karma worked in her favor
