Legal Question in Family Law in California
I asked this question earlier today "California - Can my 18 year old son choose to move out of my home when he is still a full-time high school student, and how does California Family Code Section 3901 play into it?" I should have clarified that my son's mother (my spouse) and I live together, and my son is choosing to move out to live with a friend and his friend's mother. There is no court ordered child support, nor court proceedings or attorney involvement in any form. If he moves out, is he own his own, or are my wife and I somehow legally obligated to support him at his friend's house since he will still be in high school? Thanks.
2 Answers from Attorneys
The key phrase here is the statement in section 3900 "subject to this division." Section 3901 references the support in 3900 and 3900 is "subject to this division." The division those sections appear in covers court orders for support, either between parents or to third parties who care for minor children. The provisions relating to between parents don't apply, and the provisions of the division regarding compensation to third parties specify that they do not apply to children who have abandoned the support of their parents. Without researching case law interpreting those provisions, it seems pretty clear to me that if your child chooses to move out, particularly once they are 18, you would have no support obligation. At 18 he certainly has the right to move out, but not if he wants continued support.
Thank you for revising your post. This is a completely different scenario than that raised by your previous post.
I agree with Mr. McCormick. If he moves out, he will have to become self supporting. The statutory language of section 3900 refers to support orders between parents.
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