My Son wants to come live with me

[jones1482]

My 12 year old son, who lives with his father since he was 6, has been asking his Dad if he can move back with me for 4 years now. His father yells at him and tells him never to talk about it again. There were no problems per say when he moved from my home 6 years ago. We just thought that we should try it and let him spend more time with his Dad, His father is NEVER home and my son is being raised by his stepmother. I want my Son back. We never had a custody order in 11 years, but recently His father sued me for Joint custody with him having physical custody. What is the best way to file for custody of my son, without him(my son) being put in a bad situation with his father?? We live in different cities, more than 5 hours away. My son is about to come for visitation for summer, should I petition the courts then? Does my son have a say in the courts now that he is 12? Please help.

 

[irish223]

My 12 year old son, who lives with his father since he was 6, has been asking his Dad if he can move back with me for 4 years now. His father yells at him and tells him never to talk about it again. There were no problems per say when he moved from my home 6 years ago. We just thought that we should try it and let him spend more time with his Dad, His father is NEVER home and my son is being raised by his stepmother. I want my Son back. We never had a custody order in 11 years, but recently His father sued me for Joint custody with him having physical custody. What is the best way to file for custody of my son, without him(my son) being put in a bad situation with his father?? We live in different cities, more than 5 hours away. My son is about to come for visitation for summer, should I petition the courts then? Does my son have a say in the courts now that he is 12? Please help.

Some states will allow a 12 year old to state his preference, but in no state will he be the one to decide where he will live. You have status quo working against you as far as asking for a change in custody. You will probably have to show a significant change in circumstance in order to get a change in custody. If stepmom was in the picture when your son went to live with dad, then I don't see any change in circumstance. Also, if there is already a new custody order (you weren't clear on that) then you probably can't file a new petition now.