Lithia, FL asked in Child Custody, Divorce and Family Law for Florida

Q: My parents are divorced and have dual custody over me, can I ask my dad if I could stay with my mom on certain days?

So I’m 16 years old and my parents are divorced with dual custody over me. I stay with my mom one week and same thing goes with my dad. I got hired at a place in my mom’s town, and since my dad lives 45 minutes away from there, I can imagine it’d cause some difficulties for him since I don’t have a drivers license yet and I only have a learners permit that I just got. My dad doesn’t like me staying with my mom (personal issues I’d rather not talk about) and I know for sure if I ask, he’d say no. But I want to avoid any scheduling problems with my job, hence why I want to stay with my mom whenever I’m working.

I’m only really wondering if I ask him, does he really have control over me to not let me stay with my mom whenever I’m with him for that certain duration of the week?

1 Lawyer Answer
Mr Eric Klein
Mr Eric Klein
Answered
  • Divorce Lawyer
  • Boca Raton, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been put in this position by the unfortunate circumstances of divorce. To answer your question, if you ask your dad permission to stay with your mom, he does have control over you as to where you will be staying during his court ordered time. If he says no, the only thing you can do is to ask your mom to go to court to modify the time sharing plan to reflect your work schedule. It is refreshing to hear that a 16 year old has a job and actually is excited to go to work. I've got a feeling you are going to be a very successful adult. I wish you good luck!

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