Legal Info for USA please?

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Hi, I have tried googling but nothing solid has come up, (aside from a few sites that seem to have the right info but I can't access from here) so I thought I'd ask you lovely MFPer's-

1. At what age are you allowed to leave your kids home alone &/or in charge of another child. eg. in my country the legal "babysitting age" is 14, and you are not allowed to leave a kid home alone if they're under 13.

2. If someone wanted to take their kids out of the USA to live permanently, & the father is deceased, are other family members (eg the paternal grandparents) allowed to object? If so would it be a minor court thing or major hiring of lawyers, big $ etc?

Thanks.

Replies

  • UghGrr
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    Bumping. Anybody???
  • HurricaneElaine
    HurricaneElaine Posts: 984 Member
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    You need GorillaEsquire. He's an attorney, and he knows his stuff.

    Gorilla, where ARE you???
  • UghGrr
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    Um, ok, lol, Should I climb the Empire State in a silk dress and wail helplessly??
  • know_your_worth
    know_your_worth Posts: 481 Member
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    This is only my opinion and general knowledge, not based on any laws or facts.

    1. I don't believe there is a specific age set. I'd guess around 13. I'm sure CPS could step in or object depends on the situation. Each parent uses their best judgement when deciding when their child is old enough to stay home alone or babysit. I'm sure there is some law some where stating the rules for this, but unless problems arise I don't see why the police/government would be informed anyhow.

    2. If the mother has full custody of those children and the father is deceased, I don't see how any other family members would be able to stop her from taking her children out of the country. Of course they could object and try to bring it to court, but there's a good chance it would be dismissed, nothing major. It sounds more like grounds for an episode of Dr. Phil.
  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
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    Hi, I have tried googling but nothing solid has come up, (aside from a few sites that seem to have the right info but I can't access from here) so I thought I'd ask you lovely MFPer's-

    1. At what age are you allowed to leave your kids home alone &/or in charge of another child. eg. in my country the legal "babysitting age" is 14, and you are not allowed to leave a kid home alone if they're under 13.

    2. If someone wanted to take their kids out of the USA to live permanently, & the father is deceased, are other family members (eg the paternal grandparents) allowed to object? If so would it be a minor court thing or major hiring of lawyers, big $ etc?

    Thanks.

    Different states have different requirements and laws related to age when a child can be left home alone or responsible for other children. As far as a parent wanting to take child out of US, other family members could try to get a court order barring it but they'd have to have some really really good reasons such as physical abuse. If it's just "we don't want the kids being moved far away from us", that's not nearly enough.
  • UghGrr
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    Thanks. I have a friend of a friend who is planning on bringing her kids here for a few weeks and their intention is to leave the two kids aged 8 and 11 in the motel by themselves for the day while the adults go on a daytrip. I said that wasn't legal here and she replied "oh we do it all the time here in Texas". Umm, I'm sure our local police won't care what you do in Texas, :huh: , because this isn't Texas!
    The other question was out of curiosity.
    Thank you.
  • RunMyOregonBunsOff
    RunMyOregonBunsOff Posts: 862 Member
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    [/quote]

    Different states have different requirements and laws related to age when a child can be left home alone or responsible for other children. As far as a parent wanting to take child out of US, other family members could try to get a court order barring it but they'd have to have some really really good reasons such as physical abuse. If it's just "we don't want the kids being moved far away from us", that's not nearly enough.
    [/quote]

    Yes, each state has it's own babysitting stipulations. I understand that in my state it is 14 years old or if it is an older sibling that is in charge, 12. I totally agree on the grandparents issue. They could go to court and try to stop you but unless they have part guardianship or there are neglect/abuse issues then there isn't really anything that they can do other than just waste money. Also, I imagine that (again if they don't have any custody of said child/children) if you left the country with them before they could take it to court, their hands would be even more tied.
  • juliaamilee
    juliaamilee Posts: 262 Member
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    I think it depends on the state, honestly... Also the child, how mature are they can you trust them... I leave my 10 yo alone when I go to work he is fine, sleeps eats watches TV. I am only a short distance away and call frequently. But then I also live in a very small town. Everyone knows eveyone one and if he did do anything everyone would call me.

    As far as leaving the country I dont think unless they have taken you to court to get a legal visitation that they can stop you
  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
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    Thanks. I have a friend of a friend who is planning on bringing her kids here for a few weeks and their intention is to leave the two kids aged 8 and 11 in the motel by themselves for the day while the adults go on a daytrip. I said that wasn't legal here and she replied "oh we do it all the time here in Texas". Umm, I'm sure our local police won't care what you do in Texas, :huh: , because this isn't Texas!
    The other question was out of curiosity.
    Thank you.
    https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Protection/About_Child_Protective_Services/faqchildalone.asp

    based on that, Texas doesn't have any minimum age. They just leave it open so that if the kid or kids get hurt, they can get the parents for child neglect. Based on this, even if the kid was 17, if he got hurt at home by being stupid, the parents could be in trouble for neglect.