HB 357 DE
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 10 AND 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DUTY TO SUPPORT POOR PERSONS.
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Summary
This bill updates Delaware law relating to the duty to support persons unable to financially support themselves. The bill replaces the outdated term "poor person" with "a person unable to financially support oneself" to conform with Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual standards. The bill clarifies that the duty to support includes supporting an adult child with a disability that cannot support themselves, based on a Delaware Family Court ruling. This change codifies existing court precedent regarding parental support obligations for adult children with disabilities.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.
Official abstract
This Act updates § 503 of Title 13 by replacing the outdated term “poor person” with the term, “a person unable to financially support oneself”. This language change is a technical change to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. In addition, this Act clarifies that § 503 of the Title 13, relating to the duty to support a person unable to financially support oneself (formerly “poor person”), includes the duty to a support an adult child with a disability that cannot support oneself. This duty is articulated in H. v. V., 2018 Del. Fam. Ct. LEXIS 4, where the Family Court found that a parent of a 22 year-old adult child diagnosed with severe autism was statutorily obligated to provide support to the adult child.
Sponsors (7)
- Melanie Ross Levin Democratic · primary
- Nicole Poore Democratic · primary
- Mara Gorman Democratic · primary
- Ray Seigfried Democratic · primary
- Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic · primary
- Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic · primary
- David L. Wilson Republican · primary
Action history (6)
- Apr 9, 2026 Introduced and Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House · lower
- Apr 22, 2026 Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 9 On Its Merits · lower
- May 5, 2026 Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 4 ABSENT · lower
- May 5, 2026 Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate · upper
- May 20, 2026 Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 4 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits · upper
- Jun 24, 2026 Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES · upper
Full text
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