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Hi new to this, want to know how i stand , my daughter who is 15 ( 16 in august) came to live with me and my partner 4 weeks ago , she has left school now and has a place in college where we live,my daughters mother has kept the child benefit ( but we have contacted the cb dept and they changing it to us) , i contacted the ex and asked for child maintence which i was paying when my daughter was living with her mum and i was told if she has to pay maintence she wants her daughter back , my daughter doesnt want to go back to her mother and her partner, i use to have my daughter every school holiday and still paid the maintence while she was with me, my ex was happy for her to come and live with me,
I guess it depends on the relative incomes of you and your wife. I'd be quite happy to just have my children, never mind money from my ex.
At the end of the day you are a man and she's a woman, so you're probably f***ed in the [censored] country!
it isnt about the money , my daughter does not want to go back to her mum she wants to stay with us, and as she will be 16 in 4 weeks didnt know if my ex could make her go back or not
Hi
A child can leave home at sixteen with parental consent or without it if they live in a violent or neglectful environment.
They can leave home at seventeen without parental consent.
Hi
I am no expert but from what you have said it seem's if your ex had no problem's with her living with you and that is what your daughter want's then what's the problem.You do not say why your daughter doesn't want to live with her mother and maybe not for discusion on here.If you havent been to see a solicitor go and see one some give a free half hour initial meeting enough for you to ask the question and know where you stand.
Good luck fella.
Hi Daron, don't see a solicitor yet, I'll ask the cclc to come on and give advice.
Realistically, your daughter can do what she likes at 16 as no one is going to make her go back to her mother if she refuses to go, so she can live with you. Once she is, you are entitled to child benefit, and if she remains at college, you can claim maintenance from your ex, from her attitude, if you go for this, I'd use the CSA.
Dear Daron
Thank you for your post.
When your child is 16 she can make the decision where she chooses to live. The mother cannot force her to return back to her care. The Mother can contact Social Services if she has any concerns regarding the child's safety in your care but again because of her age it is unlikely that your daughter will be forced to return back to the mother. Your daughter is also at an age where she may be considered competent to have her wishes and feelings made known.
If there is a Residence Order in place this would change the situation slightly as the mother could enforce this Order. However, if there is an Order in place we would advise that you either vary or discharge the current Order that is in place. This Order may also terminate at 16 so we would advise to check the wording of any Order in place.
In terms of maintenance, we would advise that we contact Child Maintenance Options on 0800 988 0988.
If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us via our webchat facility which can be found at www.childrenslegalcentre.com and is open 9am to 6pm.
Yours sincerely
CORAM CHILDREN'S LEGAL CENTRE
- Samaritans – call 116 123
- Shout – text the word ‘Shout’ to 85258
