Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Should child be considered a runaway
Hello my question is this. We are going to file a pins petition for my wifes 15 y.o. son. The boy was given permission to live with his father our of school district as long as he continued his education at the school in his fathers district. Proper paper work had been filled out and submitted. The mother has full custody however the father made other living arrangements for kyle back in our school district he is living with his 16 year old girlfriend and her parents. Should the boy be considered a runaway under pins petition to file an away pins?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Should child be considered a runaway
This is an interesting question.
While the text of the statute clearly supports a 'person in need of supervision' petition, the notes and caselaw suggest a different analysis.
1. Does he attend a school.
2. Is he living in the new home with the knowledge of the person with whom he is intended to be living with (the father).
3. Is he otherwise 'lawful' (no drugs, trespassing, harrassments, criminal behavior in general).
This sounds more like a 'violation' by the father.
I would proceed by bringing a violation against the father in Family Court and thereby revoking the agreement that he live with the father and gain a court order that he return to the home of the mother.
This addresses the real problem: the father's faulty parenting and also avoids any stigma attaching to your son.