Hi, I’m 15 in Florida and currently live with my mom and go to my dads every other weekend. My dad pays child support. Am I legally eligible to choose who I want to live with if I am looking to stay with my father full time?
IF this will help, at age 14 in the state of NJ you have the choice of IF you want to become adopted & live with the mom & Step Father. Call an atty. who advertises "free phone advice" in the yellow pages & see IF you can get an ans. that way. There are sure plenty of them who advertise for free advice, so I’d at least give a few a try…best to you, honey…:)
I think you have to be 18
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It varies from state to state. In some it’s as young as 13, but in others it’s 16. Your best to check with the courts where you live. Also provide them the full situation your in (where does your father live in relationship to your mom, would you have to transfer schools, any legal problems your mom/dad may have that could affect your decision ect….).
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IF this will help, at age 14 in the state of NJ you have the choice of IF you want to become adopted & live with the mom & Step Father. Call an atty. who advertises "free phone advice" in the yellow pages & see IF you can get an ans. that way. There are sure plenty of them who advertise for free advice, so I’d at least give a few a try…best to you, honey…:)
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If the court awarded custody to your mom you really don’t have a choice in the matter. Your parents could agree to allow you to live with your dad if you want to, but there is almost no way to make that legally binding unless they are able to go back to court, and I doubt they will.
Florida tends to award custody to mothers rather than fathers, which is true of most states. If you were 14 or older when they divorced your say might sway the court, but that’s unusual.
At 18 you will pretty much be free to go where you please. For now I suggest you talk to your parents and see if they can come to some sort of an arrangement you’ll be happier with.
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18. In a custody hearing, the judge would speak with you and listen to your preferences, but would ultimately make the decision based on what he/she feel is best for you.
If your parents decide out of court that it would be okay for you to move to your father’s house and live there full-time, then your parents would go back to court to have the child support adjusted, most likely so that your mother was paying your father rather than the current situation or your father paying your mother.
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If you have an okay relationship talk about it with your parents. At least your dad, he may know how to go about doing this, or he may not think it is the best idea. Not saying that he doesn’t want you there, but he may think that it’s best that you stay with your mom for other reasons.
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Sorry, not until you are 18. However he can file. Here’s some links to help.
http://custody-a_childs_choice.dads-house.org/
Give these to your father.
Http://Father_Custody.Dads-House.Org
Http://Getting_Started-Fathers_N_Family_Law.Dads-House.Org
Http://Attorneys-Hiring_The_Right_One.Dads-House.Org
Take this Quiz on Child Support:
http://CHILD_SUPPORT_QUIZ.dads-house.org
To learn a father’s rights, join Dads House in Yahoo Groups. It’s free to join, access all materials, and you associate with other fathers going through, and have already gone through, the same issues. We have an Educational Manual that teaches everything that needs to be known in addressing your legal issues. Mention your question here when asked why you want to join, as well as your state?
http://Dads-House.org \\\\\\\\
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