Age of Reasoning in Ohio

[jbachom]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Ohio

Does anyone know that age of reasoning in Ohio and how binding is it. I have posted other threads on this site but now I have a new issue.

My ex for the fouth time in two years calls wanting me to take custody of my three kids. Everytime she gets into it with her live in boyfriend I get the call. My kids are 13,12 and 10 and she wants to give me full custody. Everytime this happens we have things worked out where she will give me full custody and then she changes her mind and goes back to the boyfriend the whole time screwing with the kids minds(last time she was moving to Florida without them).

I get the call today that she has officially moved out of her boyfriends house but the kids are actually still living there. She calls me asking once again do I want custody.

Obviously I want custody of my kids but I do not want it to be a 1 or 2 month thing. Because I have three kids with her and a fourth with my current wife I would need to sell my house and get bigger one which will be a big financial commitment. My fear is that if we agree to this that in six months from now when she is probably back with her boyfriend they can say they want to move back with their mom and I am left screwed.

Even though she may not be the most stable they have lived with their mom for the last 7 years and she was a stay at home mom during our marriage so that is the only thing they have ever known. Plus the big kicker is they are at an age that they have thier friends and if they move away from mom and she ends up moving back they will most likely loose thier friendships except when they visit her. My only hope is that if they do come and live here they will learn to like it and make new friends.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Ohio

Does anyone know that age of reasoning in Ohio and how binding is it. I have posted other threads on this site but now I have a new issue.

My ex for the fouth time in two years calls wanting me to take custody of my three kids. Everytime she gets into it with her live in boyfriend I get the call. My kids are 13,12 and 10 and she wants to give me full custody. Everytime this happens we have things worked out where she will give me full custody and then she changes her mind and goes back to the boyfriend the whole time screwing with the kids minds(last time she was moving to Florida without them).

I get the call today that she has officially moved out of her boyfriends house but the kids are actually still living there. She calls me asking once again do I want custody.

Obviously I want custody of my kids but I do not want it to be a 1 or 2 month thing. Because I have three kids with her and a fourth with my current wife I would need to sell my house and get bigger one which will be a big financial commitment. My fear is that if we agree to this that in six months from now when she is probably back with her boyfriend they can say they want to move back with their mom and I am left screwed.

Even though she may not be the most stable they have lived with their mom for the last 7 years and she was a stay at home mom during our marriage so that is the only thing they have ever known. Plus the big kicker is they are at an age that they have thier friends and if they move away from mom and she ends up moving back they will most likely loose thier friendships except when they visit her. My only hope is that if they do come and live here they will learn to like it and make new friends.

File for primary custody of your kids....NOW. The situation is too out of control if they are living with the boyfriend. They are still young enough to establish new lives before high school.

 

[NVdad]

I couldn't agree more!

Get he kids. He is her BOYFRIEND. HE has no legal right to them, nor any legal responsibility. Your ex has ABANDONED them. If the kids have to sleep on the floors at your place for a while, so be it.

Make sure that your local child protective agencies are notified FIRST. They need to know yoour kids mom has left, this will support your case later. Then call a lawyer. Most likely you'll get some kind of emergency ruling giving you custody. Also, any record you have of her previous requests to give them to you would be helpful. I believe a judge would listen to the kids if they know about whats happened.

DO NOT LET THE KIDS GO BACK TO HER. A good parent would NEVER leave their children in such a manner. This is NOT a stable home!

 

[jbachom]

Trust me I want to take your advice but I am very concerned about what the courts will do. Yes she has moved out and left the kids at her boyfriends house but they lived with him for six years and he is a good guy and I feel they are in a safe environment.

My concern is that if she gets a place to live in the same area in the next week or two that they will tell the court they want to live with her if I try to take them away.

I know this will be the case based on the fact that they have always lived with their mom plus if she lives in the same area the kids will want to live by thier friends and go to the same schools. Dont get me wrong my kids love me and we have a great time when we are together but think about how young adolecents feel about leaving thier friends behind.

So if I call my attorney and tell her to file a motion, before we are even heard she will have a place to live and them with her and they will tell the courts that they want to live with thier mom.

I think it would be different if they were younger and not 13,12 and 10. So this takes me back to my original question of how much will the court take what they want in the decision. If I could feel confident that the courts would say enough is enough( I do have e-mails from her asking me if I want custody) and give me the kids regardless of what they want then I will feel more confident about proceeding with taking them from her.

 

[stealth2]

The only way you're not going to keep getting jerked around is by filing for custody yourself. At their ages, while a judge may give some weight to their wishes, the kids don't get to choose.

 

[NVdad]

let me repeat,

Again, good guy or not, they aren't his kids. No judge in their right mind could ever place them with him over you. She left, you need to notify child protective service. But the point is to DOCUMENT what their mother is doing. if you can do that then you prove that she is providing an unstable environment. I repeat, no good parent abandons their children. NEVER.

And you don't need the lawyer to get this started. File the papers on your own. Later, when she does try to get them back, then you may need one.

If you do nothing, nothing will change. get moving now, your kids are depending on you to provide them with a SAFE AND STABLE environment. They WILL thank you, maybe not soon, but they will eventually.

ALSO, if this IS a good guy and has been in their life for a long time, you need to get him onboard with you, and after this is resolved make sure the kids get to spend time with him.