[linda9484]

Is it leagal to kick a 13 year old child out of the house?

[justcurious55]

no. call cps and report it.

[J_9]

Absolutely not!

[Larken85]

Don't know, but it is certainly legal to send one to boot camp or reform school. The biological parent might also be able to give custody to another legal guardian figure (i.e. another biological parent or family member closely related like grand parents.) Other than that I have no idea.

[Larken85]

However I would certainly never suggest kicking a minor out on the streets. Just my opinion though

[J_9]

Could you please provide more information?

[linda9484]

My daughter and son-in-law are in the middle of a divorce, there are 4 children, the oldest in 13 and not my son-in-laws biological child but has been her stepdad for the last 7 years. They have been sharing custody of children and now each parent wants full custody. The stepdad currently lives in the house they had during the marriage and my daughter has a one bedroom studio apartment. When my daughter has her turn with the kids she stays at the house with kids and stepdad stays at studio. This arrangement was set-up by parents as to not disrupt children and they would always remain in the home with the parents moving back and forth between residents. My son-in-law does not get along with 13 year old and has decided that since she is not his bio child that she can't stay at the house with her siblings and has kicked her out of house. Is this legal? How can someone do that to a child? Any help in this matter would be appreciated.

[Jake2008]

That's about a mean as it gets. Parent a child along with three siblings, and then decide because she's not his 'biological' child, he boots her out. To separate her from her siblings and toss her aside like garbage is beyond my comprehension for any parent to do, step or not.

I am sure your heart is breaking for her. I don't know if he can do this legally, I suspect he can. Who would think you'd need a law to protect the interests of ALL the children in one family, especially when their parents are going through a divorce.

It will be up to your daughter to ensure that when he has his 'biological' children, the 13 year old is taken care of by her. She will have to ensure that while she is no longer considered a daughter, and is treated differently than her three siblings, she is still loved. I honestly don't know how she could ever make up for the loss this child is feeling right now.

I am hoping beyond hope that someone here with legal knowledge will post on some possibilities that may be available. I have my doubts.

For 7 years he accepted her as his own, and she considered him her father. I just cannot believe anybody would turn a child away now with the excuse she's not his 'biological' child, so out you go.

I am curious as to what other possible suggestions anyone might have.

[ScottGem]

I moved this to the Family Law forum. This illustrates why a) one should give details of their issue and b) one should post in the correct forum.

Generally, it would be illegal for anyone to put a 13 year old out in the street. But its not clear that is what is happening here. Also unclear is whether this arrangement has been submitted to the courts.

Legally, the step father has no legal relationship to the 13 yr old. But that doesn't mean he can just kick her out. It DOES mean that he can refuse to care for her, unless there is a court ordered agreement that he must. So, if he tells the mother to take the girl with her when she goes back to the studio, he could be within his rights.

[JudyKayTee]

Agree with Scott - stepfather can't simply throw her into the streets with no place to go; he CAN refuse to allow her to stay at his apartment.

For example, I could refuse to allow my stepchildren to set foot in MY house. I'm not breaking any laws.

If the child is being emotionally or physically abused (and this could be the case if the stepfather is playing favorites) then it needs to be reported to CPS - as quickly as possible.