“It Shouldn’t Be Gone”: Teen Drags Mother To Court Over $30k She “Wasted” While She Was A Child

One of the signs of adulthood is having and managing your own money. In the U.S., 45% of young adults aged 18 to 26 say they’re completely financially independent from their parents. Yet, not everyone has that luxury, especially if their parents mismanaged money meant for them while they were kids.

One young woman claimed that exactly this happened to her. She said that her parent wasted the $30,000 in her childhood payouts and only $524 was left. That’s why she refused to attend Christmas. However, people’s reactions weren’t as she had hoped: netizens didn’t side with her this time.

A woman planned to skip Christmas with one of her parents because of an old wound

Image credits: PhotoVolcano / envato (not the actual photo)

The parent, according to her, mismanaged her childhood funds and refused to admit that she did it

Image credits: heatherdeffense / envato (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Puzzled-Idea8462

Eligible Alaska residents use PFDs for different necessities, and they have become essential in many people’s lives

The comment section under this story was buzzing with people arguing about whether the mother used the PFD money appropriately. Is it meant as a fund for a child that is given to them once they reach 18, or is the parent free to use it for childcare purposes until then?

PFD stands for the Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend. The APF, Alaskan Permanent Fund, is a state-run fund that manages the surplus revenue from the money from the government’s oil and gas reserves. Essentially, the APF invests the money it receives and gives away a portion of it to eligible Alaskan residents.

Who is eligible for the money? Residents who have lived in the state for at least a year and plan to do so indefinitely are eligible. Also, applicants who have committed any criminal activities become automatically ineligible.

In 2025, every eligible resident was to receive $1,000, and over 600,000 Alaskans were said to be recipients. However, it is also the smallest sum in five years. In 2024, for example, the dividend was about $1,700. Since its inception in 1982, the amount has varied between $1,000 and $2,000.

Residents use this money in different ways. Some buy essentials for winter, like fuel and food, or pay for “wish list” items, such as a new TV. Other Alaskans use it for essentials like groceries and paying bills. Granted, other folks put it into their college funds or cover student loans.

Either way, it has become essential in many Alaskans’ lives. “At all stages and in various states of employment it made a difference in different ways,” Alaska resident Nathan Zierfuss-Hubbard told Business Insider. “As a child it contributed to the family’s income and was often translated into paying for school clothes or supplies. It helped with unplanned bills and the higher cost of living.”

Alaska is a fairly expensive state to raise children

Image credits: EyeEm / freepik (not the actual photo)

But does the money Alaskans receive from the APF need to be used like the teen in this story says it does? Was the mother supposed to save it for her until she finally turns 18? If there’s no court order to do so (like there was in this story), then probably not. If the recipient of the PFD has to pay child support and fails to do so, the Alaska Child Support Enforcement Division collects that money.

But the dilemma here for some commenters seems to be more ethical than legal since, as the teen clarified later, the mother did legally misstep by not replenishing the funds. Many pointed out that it takes much more than the fund offers to raise a child.

Experts estimate that in the U.S., raising a kid costs around $21,681 a year nowadays. Over 18 years, that amounts to about $389,000 in total. It also matters what state you live in, of course. In the most expensive U.S. state, Massachusetts, raising a child costs $36,000 annually. In contrast, raising kids in Mississippi is only $16,151. Over 18 years, the difference is staggering: $439,000. In Alaska, this cost was around $32,947 in 2025.

But what do you think, Pandas? Should the mother have saved the money until the daughter turns 18, even if she wasn’t ordered by the court to do so? Or if there’s some information missing and the teen is holding a grudge against her parent and being too unfair and petty? Let us know your opinions in the comments!

The daughter’s main issue was that her parent wasn’t following court orders

Surprisingly, many people thought the daughter was being a jerk in this situation: “That money wasn’t yours”

Some tried to explain that the PFD money in Alaska isn’t like an inheritance

“Don’t let anyone guilt you,” others wrote, agreeing with the OP that the mother mismanaged her funds

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