Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

16-yea-old son living ''on his own''?

Hi,

I live in the state of Washington, and I'm about to rent an apartment to live in with my son. The catch is that I also own a house that I live in with my wife, 2-year-old daughter, and soon, a new baby. I plan to split my time between the apartment and the house to meet everyone's needs. The question is: what (if any) are the legal requirements of guardianship of my son in this case? Is it OK if I don't sleep in the apartment every night? I plan to be there for my son every day before and after school, have dinner with him, etc., but there may be times when I'm home at the house, and he's at the apartment. Any help appreciated.

Thanks.


Asked on 9/12/07, 12:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: 16-yea-old son living ''on his own''?

You are your son's parent. Thus, you don't have to be his guardian the way a non parent would have to be, because you all ready are his parent.

Parents are presumed to make appropriate choices for their children. Whether or not leaving a sixteen year old on his own is appropriate could conceivably bring your parenting skills into question, and his mother may see it differently.

She's his parent, too, no matter what your marital status and has a say in what happens to her child.

I'd be really cautious about leaving the younger sibs in one house and then leaving the older sib to be on his own. Sounds like a recipe for trouble to me.

Have you thought about counseling for the sixteen year old so you can all live together and be a full time parent?

Elizabeth Powell

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Answered on 9/12/07, 1:14 am


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