Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

Can my 13 year old decide about visitation?

I am the custodial parent of a 12 year old son, who will be turning 13 years old in April. The non-custodial (NC) parent is truly a part-time parent who basically decides when it's convenient for him to pick him up. On one hand he wants to follow the Indiana Parenting Guidelines, then when it's inconvenient for him, he says he's not following it. My question is can my son choose when he wants to go or not? Does he have to go with the NC parent? My son has missed trips with his grandparents out of town to visit other family members b/c the NC decided he wanted to get him only to drop him off with other relatives in town instead of spending time with him. My son, at times, would rather be with me or my family than go with the NC. My other question is does the NC have the right to just pop up and decide he wants to take our son whenever he feels like it? What can I do to prevent this? Thank you in advance for your assistance.


Asked on 12/26/06, 11:46 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Can my 13 year old decide about visitation?

Your 13 year old does not get to determine visitation. Regarding the manner in which the father sometimes follows the guidelines and sometimes doesnt, just be sure to follow the guudelines. Also, please be aware that the right of first refusal includes his visitation time. In other words, if during visitation, the father needs a baby sitter, because he can not be with the child, he has to give you the opportunity to be the one with the child. In fact, there is recent case law that basically says that leaving him with a relative who is not a member of the household requires that he first offer to let you have him.

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Answered on 12/26/06, 3:33 pm


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