Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
child divorcing father
My daughter is 14. Her father and I have joint legal and physical custody 50-50. My daughter does not want to go with her father and father's fiancee. She says they are very mean to her and she gets yelled at all day for stupid things. My daughter says her father never spends any time with her. She wonders why they even wanted her 50% of the time. She said ''he just does'nt want to pay anymore child support''. My daughter says her father and fiancee talk very bad about me (mother) and she hates that she has to listen to that. The fiancee calls my daughter names (vendictive bitch) and says she will make my daughtes life a living hell when she is over there. Thay have since put her on a time schedule. 15 minutes to eat, 25 minutes to shower, 2 hrs of cleaning. My daughters behavior has got progressively worse since this 50-50 took place. Can my daughter at the age of 16 divorce her father or file for a modification of custody.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: child divorcing father
Upon a filing of a modification of custody by the child at age 16, the court must still look at a material change in circumstances which would warrant the change. However, some courts will take into consideration the childs reasons for making the change as a material change if not coached, etc.
If there are major issues at the home which were not present prior to the current order, that may be considered a material change in circumstances which would warrant a change.
Re: child divorcing father
Your daughter can't file for a change of custody, but you can. You clearly have the first requirement for filing for a change: assuming that the fiancee was not in the picture when the original order was put in place, there is now a material change of circumstance that is having a negative impact on the welfare of your daughter. Your daughter is old enough to explain to the judge why she is unhappy with the present situation and you, and hopefully other witnesses, can describe the effect on your daughter. A judge will not automatically do what a child asks in this kind of situation, but he (or she) will consider the credibility of what she says and her reasons for wanting a change. If her father had reasonable rules in his home which she didn't like(and 14 year old children always dislike rules), and you let her do whatever she wanted, that would not be a good reason for a change in custody. If her father is mean and his home is a miserable place for her, that might be a very good reason. Don't wait until your daughter is 16. You can file for a change at any age if there is a material change of circumstance which is negatively impacting the child. As for divorcing a parent, there is no such possibility.
Re: child divorcing father
Your daughter can't "divorce" her father, but you could file a petition to modify custody, citing as evidence the scenario you've laid out above. If the court grants full residential custody to you, your ex would be obligated to pay additional child support.
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