Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey

Re: custody of a 17 year old

In all likelihood, your son would be able to live with you. The only real issue would be the potential impact it may have on the other two children. That is something you should be wary of. Make sure you advise your ex well in advance, in writing.

Re: custody of a 17 year old

Mr. La Rocca brings up a good point. Normally, a court will let the 17 year old make up his mind. However, your ex could bring up some issues to counteract that. In my opinion, it would have to be very, very strong to counteract it. However, at 17, I doubt he hangs out with the other children much and if the move isn't more than say 2 hours, I doubt there would be any problem.

I doubt you need an attorney for this as it is a simple matter. However, you may want to have one with you for piece of mind and to make sure the new child support gets calculated correctly. You'd be amazed how often they are wrong. Furthermore, because it is a rather simple matter, it should be very inexpensive for an attorney to assist you with this. Thus, it may be worth it for you to get one.

My initial consultations are always free, so feel free to call me at 732/247/3340 if you have any other questions or if you'd like to discuss the case in more detail.

Good luck!

Re: custody of a 17 year old

I have read what the other two attorneys have written. As usual, Frank and Jef are right on the money.

I do think you should use an attorney to try to get this in writing agreed to by your ex, without the need for any court fight; the attorney will be backup for you if she wants to try to fight it.

Good luck to you. Find a decent divorce attorney not too far from you.

Re: custody of a 17 year old

Transferring custody to you should not be a problem.

Call me if you like.

Gary Moore, Esquire

Hackensack, New Jersey

www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com