Oh dear, I found it so sad when that happened. But my kid was 16 and he inherited enough money from his parents to get by till college. I was so mad at his older brother for not helping out.
But 12? This is so sad. If you've got enough money, the child could make it into college without being too depressed. You could always go for the next generation button in the Family tab. It's a difficult choice though. Why not wait and see what happens?
The Orphan thread