Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
Does my 16 year old have rights?
My wife and daughter had an altercation in which my wife got so upset and went to choke my 16 year old daughter. My daughter was so upset she called the police. The police has reported this incident to child protective services. My daughter was so upset and afraid she flew out here to Hawaii and is living with me. My wife and I are not divorced I am out here on business. My daughter wants to move back to Virginia to finish high school (she is in 11th grade) and go to college on the east coast. But she doesn't want to live with her mother but wants to live with her grandparents who live only 15 minutes away from our home in Virginia. If I grant her permission, can she stay with her grandparents and go back to school in Virginia. Or is she forced to move back in with her mother (whom she is very much afraid of) in order to continue school? I have asked my wife to get counseling and even her supervisor has asked her if she wants counseling but she refuses, and my wife works for child protective services and she should have known better than to attack her own child like she did???
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Does my 16 year old have rights?
Assuming that there are no formal court orders involved regarding the custody of your daughter, you could grant your daughter temporary permission to live with her grandparents with the understanding that they would need to file a petition with their local J&DRDC (Juvenile Court)
for guardianship of your daughter.
Your wife would be given notice of this petition and, of course, would have the right to oppose it and demand that your daughter return to her home.
The court would base its decision on what it would determine to be in the best interests of your child at that particular time.
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