VIC 16yr old wants to leave home

[Helen17]

My 16 yr old wants to move interstate & live with a friends family. For the past 4 yrs he has been living with my X, as mutually agreed. He stays with me every 2nd weekend and half of all school holidays. There are no court orders in place. We do not know the people he wants to live with but my X has told him he can go. Legally can i stop him?

 

[sammy01]

you would have to apply to court to get orders to stop him. - that is a long process. If you start now it is likely the kid would be closer to 17 .... Chances of success with a 17 year old kid? not good.
cheers

 

[Helen17]

you would have to apply to court to get orders to stop him. - that is a long process. If you start now it is likely the kid would be closer to 17 .... Chances of success with a 17 year old kid? not good.
cheers

 

[Helen17]

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately he’s told me he plans to leave just after the New Year. So i guess i’ll just have to hope that over the next couple of weeks his older brothers and I can convince him to stay.

 

[sammy01]

sorry I don't have better advice - but at that age, I reckon you need to let kids make their own mistakes.

 

[SamanthaJay]

That's really hard. Even police would do nothing if he 'ran away'. My niece did that at 15, parents had no clue where she was and police weren't interested. Thankfully she got her life back on track.

There's a good chance he will come home when he realises it's not all fun and games. I wonder about a family that will take a 16yo into their home without any contact with the parents.

Does he intend to work or change schools?