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Question by korey =): I’m 17, I want to leave my home with mom in AL. to Live with dad in CA.(I use a lot of punctuation;typed fast)?
You can basically just skip through all the bullshit and get to the final paragraph and closing; I didn’t realize I rambled THIS much…

I am the youngest of 4 children between my mom and dad.(no other kids) Born and currently living in Alabama.
My mom and dad divorced when I was about 1 year old, and when I was around 4-5 years old they finally came upon an agreement with custody issues legally. My mother was of course payed child support but the payments didn’t become regular for a very long time, but they are now. My mother had my siblings and I full time, other than when my father had us every other weekend until I was about 12 years old, when he moved to California( He’s a respiratory therapist and worked with a travel agency; he is re-married and does not move any longer). When I was 13 he flew me to his apartment in CA. for half the summer and I’ve done the same every year till now, and occasionally with siblings or by myself around Christmas.

AND (because I ramble a lot) :
Last summer My dad and step-mom said it would be fine if I lived with them as long as my mom was compliant. I was having a really difficult time at home the past 2 years because I’ve had personal issues, issues with school, law (not relevant/not major), as well as overwhelming issues with one of my sisters and my mom. I was so up for this I was at the airport about to get on the plane that I tried calling mother mother to tell her, only she had gone to work so I just went home. I wanted to live with him so badly, but when I got home from Cali. in the summer everything was normal and happy again. I ended up not giving my dad a definite answer, because every time I got the courage to ask my mother I’d seem to lose my voice and get teary-eyed.

About 6 months have past and I have turned 17 I just returned from Cali. on Dec. 20th. again while I was in CA, my dad asked if I wanted to live with him and Tracey. The school down the street from his house is amazing and I’ve never really cared about my future very much, other than what I might like to do, and I feel like if i don’t go now and get out of my shitty school system( I mean, come on! half the teachers have no clue about their subject, some only have the jobs because they’re sport coaches, they’re making up random classes like school gardening; we have no gardens what-so-ever, and our only Spanish teacher doesn’t even speak Spanish!) I’m surrounded by complete idiots (dumber than I, actually -_-) and I feel like I’ll just end up like everybody else here; working at a gas station or at minimum wage without any REAL college degree.

MY POINT IS: I won’t try hard enough here because I’m not motivated to do so. When I’m with my dad I am because i have to. I feel like it’ll be the best thing for me, and it would set me on the right path to going to college there. Besides, I tend to get into a lot of trouble here with things I should be doing. I don’t want to end up where I really don’t want to be.
About an hour ago I told my mom that my dad had asked for me to move in with him, and all she said was “well, what do ya wanna do then? I mean you got one year left of high school and it’d be like spittin’ in my face now….” I said okay, told her goodnight, and left her room. my final junior semester starts this Wednesday, and the school near my dad’s same semester starts on the 20th.

I don’t want to go into any legal battles over custody because by that time I’ll be 18 anyway.
I Know some of you would probably just tell me it doesn’t matter I only have a year and a half left anyway blah blah blah… what’s the point in leaving now when you’ll be 18 soon anyway… blah blah blah…
The state of Alabama has a law stating children can’t move out of guardian custody until after graduation of high school, or emancipation has occurred.

QUESTION!!(finally… more parenthesis…)

I’m only really looking for some advise really on how to deal with this etc. or maybe any other legalities I’m unaware of/incorrect about.

Best answer:

Answer by Sara
I didn’t really read that whole thing, but if this helps at all.. once a child is like 14 or 15 they can choose which parent they want to live with. So there is no need for you to be emancipated.

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