Q: My son recently turned 18 and is a high school senior. My ex-wife is won't provide transportation for him to my house.
He has a car but since she gave him 75% of the cost for his care and told him that she would most likely sell his car if he chose to live with me. The divorce decree states that he follows a 5-2-2-5 parenting time schedule. Is she required to follow the decree on parenting time while he is in high school and if so, what are my next steps.
A:
The law is not entirely clear on this. A child is not emancipated for SUPPORT purposes until they are 18 and have graduated high school. If they don't graduate high school, they emancipate when they turn 19.
However, that does not mean that's the law for custody.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: An 18-year-old is an adult. Because he is an adult, he is no longer subject to a Parenting Plan. Therefore, the parenting schedule for him is over.
Even if it wasn't, it likely would not be worth enforcing. If filed now and served by November, you'd probably get (best case scenario) a February hearing and a ruling in March, and have two months of enforced parenting time and lots of time and energy wasted. And a more realistic timeline is that this could very well be going to trial just as he's graduating.
As for ownership of the car, whose name is on the title? If his name is on the title, Mom likely can't sell his property now that he's an adult, but there may be question as to whether a contract exists between them. Additionally, if it's in her name, though, she does have control over it.
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