Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Custody after child reaches 16

I've had defacto custody of my 15yo his whole life. I was awarded full custody in court when he was 7, but my attorney at the time failed to file the paperwork and is no longer practicing law. My son has threatened to go live with his father when he turns 16 because I have too many rules and his father is VERY permissive. My son is engaging in a great deal of risk behavior, including drinking, drugs, cutting school, sex, stealing, fighting, you name it. Other than cutting school, he's never been caught doing the others but I have learned about it from very reliable sources and he is spiralling out of control very quickly. His father's a bad influence and almost encourages this behavior by bragging about doing these things in his youth and treating it as a rite of passage while continually undermining my authority. As I come down harder on my son to counteract this dangerous behavior, he becomes more enraged and determined to live with his father. I really have no evidence of his father actually ''edangering'' my son or anything, so I'd have nothing substantial to fight him in court with. I'm terribly worried about my son and terrified of how far he'll go under his father's supervision. Do I have ANY options at all?


Asked on 4/28/06, 1:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
W. ADAM MANDELBAUM W. ADAM MANDELBAUM

Re: Custody after child reaches 16

consider going to family court and taking out a PINS petition against your child. (Person in need of supervision). Go to the clerk's office or what they may call intake office, and they will help you with the petition. As far as custody, when the child is sixteen his desires definitely can affect the outcome.

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Answered on 4/28/06, 2:56 pm


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