17 Year Old Refuses to Move Out of State with Family

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Illinois

I currently live in Chicago with my 3 sons 19, 17 and 17 and have legal custody of my 7 year old niece. My company has offered me a great position in Atlanta, this is something that would benefit the family as a whole as I am a single mother. One of 17 year olds is refusing to move. He is a senior in high school and will be 18 in November. He has already talked to friends and states that he can stay with them and that the parents just stated I would need to talk to them about it. I don't want to force him to move, yet how can I leave him here alone? Can he stay here legally? What are my options?

No one would ever encourage you to break the law. Even if he attains the age of 18, he might run into problems staying enrolled in IL. As the move will likely be complicated, you could elect to transfer temporary custody to a friend, to avoid an interruption of his schooling during the move process.

I am sorry, what law am I breaking?

He will be prohibited from continuing to attend school in IL as a matter of law at some point presumably.

No that is not correct, he can continue school here in Illinois, as a resident living in the school district (with his friends) he can go to any school that the area is zoned for.

There are really two trains of thought here.

1) You're the parent - he's the child. Your word is God. He doesn't get to make such decisions.

2) He's almost 18 - if you force him to move, you could well risk alienating him for a LOT longer than the months it would take changing custody.

IF you're his sole custodial parent, you can of course hand over POA or whatever the school district needs, so he can remain in school in Illinois.

Look into transferring temporary guardianship to someone in IL. You might have to fill out specific documents, or it might be as simple as writing a note containing the necessary information.

Another problem could be medical insurance. Will your new company insure him out of state? You might want to check into that as you might be leaving him without medical coverage if you move.

As a note, I have been the guardian of a teenage boy in a similar situation for more than 3 years, so I have some experience with the legal headaches and the logistics of this.

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Quoting fieryred

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One of 17 year olds is refusing to move. He is a senior in high school and will be 18 in November.

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I think what disagreeable was trying to get at is that whether a child qualifies to enroll in a specific school district usually flows from where the parents reside. The consequence of enrolling in an improper school district is that, if they're aware that you're not qualified to enroll, they can decline enrollment based on space and can charge tuition. That may not be an issue in your case either because your son is already enrolled in his senior year, or because the school district's policies allow minors living apart from their parents to enroll based upon their own place of domicile (as you suggest). There have been some high profile cases of schools seeking the prosecution of parents for enrolling children without living in the district, so that may be the source of disagreeable's concern.

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Quoting fieryred

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Can he stay here legally? What are my options?

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A parent can agree to allow a minor to live in a safe, appropriate environment, and with some older teens that can even mean living independently. As you note, you would have to speak to the friend's parents to see what they're willing to take on. They may want a power of attorney so that they can talk to teachers, authorize medical care and the like. It may be beneficial to go through the court and have them appointed as guardians, as that may enable them (for example) to place the child on their health insurance.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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He will be prohibited from continuing to attend school in IL as a matter of law at some point presumably.

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That is not correct. He would not be prohibited from remaining in school if he continues to live in IL. Just because he parent moved to another state after the school year started doesn't mean that he would be illegally remaining in school.

I will address the health insurance question only.

Unless the friend's parent's insurer is remarkably and much more than usually agreeable, there would have to be a court-ordered guardianship before they would be permitted to put him on their insurance, and even then it's not a 100% guarantee. You could certainly include him on yours but you would need to ensure that your network included both Illinois and Georgia. This is definitely something you will want to clarify before you make a final decision.