There are only four states that require
Coogan Accounts (or something like it) and Florida isn’t one of them. Florida does have a law, the Child Performer and Athlete Protection Act, which works somewhat similarly but there are significant
loopholes that still allow for parents to hold the purse strings.
Yes, it's likely Jazz will end up with nothing. Even in the states with Coogan laws, all they require is that
15% of the child's paycheck goes directly to the child's "can't touch until age 18" bank account, the parents can (and usually do!) pocket the other 85%. and the good money is for big-budget, mostly union TV/Film roles... there are essentially no rules about how much a child (or anyone) must be paid for a reality show, plus all the rules about how many hours a child can 'work' in front of a film crew each day (plus other protections for showbiz kids like a mandatory social worker on set, minimum hours of tutoring if they haven't finished school, etc.) have not yet been extended to "reality" kids.
My optimistic side wants lawyer dad to have played hardball and secured a huge contract for Jazz, but TLC is not throwing buckets of money at
anyone, so Jazz is not getting rich even if his parents give him 100% of his earnings,. To understand how rare it actually is for stage parents to do this, when my son was very young some friends in the industry asked if he could be in one scene of a hit network TV show. This was Cali, so he literally could only 'work' for 20 minutes max at his age... I held him in the shot and also got paid for a full day's work (but only made about one-fifth of what my drooling baby did!) and then we hung out with our friends on set the rest of the day - I'd never let him 'work' now he's older but holding a baby for 20 minutes and scoring $675 for his college fund (plus $125 for me, so $800 total)? Total no-brainer.
His "Coogan" money was sent directly to his account before I was sent the remainder of his paycheck, but when our checks came in, I went to the bank and asked to deposit them both into his account (I only made 'my' money holding him, so I figured he deserved both)... the bank teller looked at me like I was a space alien ("you understand they've already taken out the required amount, right? You don't need to give anything else to your son... let me get a manager, I've been here years and have no idea how to do a voluntary deposit into a Coogan... it just never happens, wow, you are an incredible mother." (For not stealing my son's paycheck? Bravo, me!)
Also noteworthy: that 15% still isn't "safe" because the parents still control what is done with the money in the trust... lots of fake 'production companies' started by showbiz parents to get their hands on every last penny (it's so easy, the child's account 'invests' in the fake company for some nominal amount of shares, but the company is purely a front, the money just goes straight to the parents.)
And: Most TV series start with seven-year contracts. The network can drop the show/'cast' at any minute of course, but if they score a hit, they have their cast locked in and unable to 're-up' (demand more money) for the first seven seasons... I already predict Jazz will not be returning for a season seven, but definitely not a season eight - they'd ask for more money (everyone does!), but now that the audience has all already seen the 'main event,' he just doesn't have a compelling narrative anymore. Depression is depressing, no one's going to keep tuning in to follow his brave and stunning battle with depression... the show will be over within two years (and most likely less than that), no doubt about it.