Can we Legally Throw Our 16 Year Old Son Out?

Q.

I have a 16 year old stepson who has been in a group home and after he returned home, he was expelled from school for breaking and entering and also for vandalism.

What are the legal ramifications that we as parents will face if we throw him out of our house?

He causes constant turmoil and was initially removed from our home for peeking at my 12 year old daughter while she was in the shower. Please help!

A.

Parental Responsibility

The parents of a child have certain responsibilities to care for that child which are covered by the legal concept of parental responsibility. A person with parental responsibility for a child has the legal duty to protect, house and provide for that child.

Not all parents have parental responsibility. The birth mother of a child will automatically have parental responsibility. An unmarried father of a child born prior to 1 December 2003 will not have parental responsibility for the child unless he enters into a parental responsibility agreement with the child’s mother or obtains a court order granting parental responsibility. Even parents without parental responsibility have a legal duty to provide for their children financially.

It is not clear from your question whether you have formally adopted your stepson and whether your partner is the boy’s mother or father. The degree of legal responsibility you and your partner have for the boy may depend on the answers to the following questions:

• Is your partner the boy’s mother? If so she will almost certainly have parental responsibility for the child as there are very limited circumstances in which a birth mother can lose parental responsibility.
• Is your partner the boy’s father? If so whether or not he has parental responsibility will depend on whether he was married to the boy’s mother or entered into a parental responsibility agreement with her or obtained a court order granting him parental responsibility. If the answer to any of these is yes, your partner will have parental responsibility.
• Have you formally adopted the boy? If you have legally adopted him you are likely to have parental responsibility for him. Since 2005 stepparents have also been able to apply for parental responsibility orders.

How Long Does Parental Responsibility Last?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the duties towards a child which come with parental responsibility continue until the child is 18. In the case of children between the age of 16 and 18 parental responsibility ends if the child marries.

In some circumstances where parental responsibility was conferred by a court order it may end upon expiry of the order. Alternatively a court order ending the parental responsibility may be obtained. The child’s birth mother can only lose her parental responsibility if the child is adopted.

I have referred to your stepson as a boy or child because, in legal terms, that is what he is until he turns 18. Technically a person with parental responsibility for a child, who fails to look after that child, could be prosecuted for child neglect. Therefore, if either of you do have parental responsibility for this boy it would be inadvisable to throw him out. Clearly the current situation is unsustainable and you all need help of some kind.