temp custody issues

[lesleesorensen]

My 17yr old daughter is going to try living with her father for awhile. He wants me to sign custodial rights to him first. She tried living with him one other time and it only lasted 2 weeks. I dont want to sign anything untill we see if it works. Can i just give him back his child support when I get it for a couple months until I see if they get along? We got divorced when she was 2 and he didnt participate a lot. While I really hope for her it will be great, I dont want to sign anything until I have piece of mind. Help

 

[Proserpina]

You're under no obligation whatsoever to either sign over custody, or return/stop child support. If Dad wants custody, let him file for custody.

The bigger problem is...by the time it gets to court, your daughter will probably already be 18 and custody becomes a non-issue.

 

[lesleesorensen]

Is it legal for her to live with him when I have custodial rights? He is pressuring me like it is not legal. He says he needs me to sign for him to put her on his health insurance.

 

[Proserpina]

What I usually say is, "the kid doesn't get to decide where s/he lives". But as your daughter is 17, and really wants to live with Dad, I get the feeling that if you fight it this will cause resentment and possible estrangement.

It IS legal, if you agree, for your daughter to live with Dad even if you have physical custody. He's also full of it if he's insisting that he needs legal custody in order to have her on his health insurance....if he's legally Dad, he should be able to add her regardless.