hi..
i just turned 16 years old and last summer i decided i would give living with my dad a try. My mom agreed to let me go and told me if i ever wanted to come back to let her know.Well after about 3 or 4 months i decided i didnt want to live with my father and i wanted to move in with my mom.I was just wondering if any one knew if i could decide who i wanted to live with.My parents have joint custidy of me but only my dad has physical custidy..he is telling me that i cannot live with my mom and that what i want does not matter.please tell me what you think,thank you

hi..
i just turned 16 years old and last summer i decided i would give living with my dad a try. My mom agreed to let me go and told me if i ever wanted to come back to let her know.Well after about 3 or 4 months i decided i didnt want to live with my father and i wanted to move in with my mom.I was just wondering if any one knew if i could decide who i wanted to live with.My parents have joint custidy of me but only my dad has physical custidy..he is telling me that i cannot live with my mom and that what i want does not matter.please tell me what you think,thank you
Since you are still a minor, you cannot decide where you live. That does not mean that all is lost though. Your Mom can file for a custody modification, at your age the Judge will most likely allow you to testify as to why you want to live with Mom, but in the end the Judge will be the one to decide. Talk to your Mom about the possibility.

thank you..im pretty sure that is what she is doing.she told me i would have to tell a judge why i want to live with her instead of my dad.thanks again

This is confusing.....You said you would "give living with my dad a try". You must have had a good relationship with your dad to agree to go live with him. Your mom must have had reasons to agree to it. After only 3 to 4 months you changed your mind? What happend?

the main reason i moved because the place i was living before wasnt all that great for me. I was starting to get into some trouble and the school wasnt that great.But now my mom has moved and to a nicer place and the school is nice where she moved. My dad ust tells me he doesnt think i could change myself (i thought i was the one who was supposed to change myself ) and that my mom doesnt have the capability to change me from how i used to be. I mean i wasnt even off that bad..i was a b average student before and now im a a-b average student. I truely believe that if i tried i could do just as good or better living with my mom. Thats where me and my dad disagree with each other.

Well, actually, you may be in luck. Missouri statutes actually list one of the factors taken into consideration for determining a child's residential custody is the child's wishes. Now, it is ONE of the factors, but you being 16 would be allowed to express your wishes. What will have to happen is that your mother will have to file for modification of the custody order and proceed from there. www.moga.mo.gov/STATUTES/STATUTES.HTM (http://www.moga.mo.gov/STATUTES/STATUTES.HTM)

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