What is the legal age after which that a child cannot be forced to visit a parent?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What is the legal age after which that a child cannot be forced to visit a parent?
My son just turned 18 in February but still lives at home. He’s about to graduate and start working full-time to save for college in the fall. He’s supposed to go for a week in April, a month in summer, and Thanksgiving. However, he hasn’t spoken to his mother for almost a year. She just keeps forcing him to go. But now he’s 18, so does he still have to go or does it follow the same 19 age rule as child support?
Asked on February 25, 2011 under Family Law, Georgia
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
What does a child support order and visitation order say? Understand child support and visitation are not co-dependant items. A child cannot be kept from a parent if the parent doesn't pay child support. Notice I used the word child. Your son is no longer a child but an adult so while a parent may be obligated to support the child until 19 or even older in some cases, the adult is no longer obligated to see the parent. She cannot force him to visit and wouldn't have been able to force him to visit even when he was a minor. She would have had to go to court to force visitation. Visitation is to benefit the child, not the parent. If the child did not wish to visit and there is a viable reason (perhaps of which you don't know), the court can just as easily revoke visitation.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.