We have a court order in WA state where I have Physical custody but we share decision making. My 171/2 yr old wants to live with friends and go to school and graduate with his friends in the town where his father resides. I live in Id and I am fine with him doing this as he will be 18 in 6 mo. He does not want to live with his father as he is controlling and mentally abusive. Can I legally give him permission to live with his friends and their family without his fathers permission?

Who will be in charge over the child while he is not in your care?

Will the father fight it in court, would he file for custody and ask you to pay child support ?

Are the friends living at home with their parents are will he be living with 18 year olds on their own

I can see him filing for temp cusotdy, getting it and keeping it for at least the six months

The parents of his friends would be in charge of him. I have already discussed it with the mother. She already treats him like he is her own son. His father has already said that he wouldn't agree to him living anywhere but with me or him. He is treated like a criminal at his fathers and he is far from that. He does not do drugs, drink or run the streets. His goal after he graduates is to join the army. He plays high school sports that his father says he cannot play if he doesn't follow the rules. Which he does follow and does his chores but according to his father are not done well enough so then he gets grounded. I don't think that sports should be taken away since it is a productive thing for him to do. I just need to know if I can legally give him the permission he needs. I don't think his father would take it back to court as he has stated that he really doesn't want to pay an attorney again.

Why is he having to go to another town to go to school,
Did you move to another city over the summer ?

His father lives in WA and I live in ID. He moved with his father the end of last school year so that he could be near his friends and his father bribed him with putting the child support that I had received for him into a bank account for him which never happened. He is now a senior in high school and wants to graduate with his friends. He doesn't like the school district here and didn't do very well in his classes here. Since he has gone to school back with his friends he has done much better and I don't want to disrupt that.

First unless the father went to court to change child support, even if the child lived with him, he owes you the support, he can not give it to the son, or put it in the bank,

You can take him back to court to make him pay it to you.

In WA state if you contact support enforcement and show proof that the child is living with you and you are the paying parent they will discontinue the support. I don't even care about the money. I just want my son to be happy and he is not happy living with his father but wants to finish school with his friends. I want to be able to help him do that but not sure what to do to make that happen. He is a very responsible young man and very respectful of everyone. I just need to know if I can write a letter giving him permission to live with his friends parents or not without his dad having a say in it.

Yes, you can delegate your custody to a third party. It's done all the time to baby sitters and such. In concept, this is the same idea.

Can you, as noted of course you can, can your ex take this back to family court, yes he can