Can You Continue to Date a 16-Year-Old After You Reach the Age of 18

My question involves restraining orders in the State of: Tennessee
I am currently 18 and my girlfriend is 16. Her mom doesn't like the fact that she is in a relationship with me because of my age. Me and my girlfriend have been together for a while now and have no problems. I asked for her grandmother's approval because at the time that was who she was staying with. Her mom just came back in the picture and wants to get us away from each other. I've not done wrong by my girlfriend. I respect her and all she asks of me. I'm good to her. Her mom recently told my girlfriend she was going to get a restraining order against me. Can she legally do that? With there not being any kind of threat or harm being done? Besides my age and being 2 years older.

Until she is 18 she is under her parents’ control and they get to say which persons she can have as friends and boyfriends. If the mother wants you to stay away then you had best do that or the mother may indeed succeed in getting a court order restraining you from seeing your girlfriend. It has nothing to do with how well you treated your girlfriend.

Her mom just recently came back into her life. She abandoned her. There can't be ant possible way she can just come back into her life and act like everything's okay. I was there to pick her daughter up when she left her in peices. I'm the only good thing she has. Her mom left after she found out my girlfriends uncle was sexual horrassing her. That she was raped. Her mom left. How is it legil to abandon their kid and come back and say she can or can't be with the only person keeping her together

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Quoting SpiderJock

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Her mom just recently came back into her life. She abandoned her. There can't be ant possible way she can just come back into her life and act like everything's okay. I was there to pick her daughter up when she left her in peices. I'm the only good thing she has. Her mom left after she found out my girlfriends uncle was sexual horrassing her. That she was raped. Her mom left. How is it legil to abandon their kid and come back and say she can or can't be with the only person keeping her together

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Come down off your high horse, boyo. You do not outrank mom. Period. You need to get that through your thick teenage boy head. If you cannot you will find yourself in a world of hurt.

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Quoting SpiderJock

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How is it legil to abandon their kid and come back and say she can or can't be with the only person keeping her together

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Because she is her MOTHER and unless her parental rights were terminated or legal custody has been granted to someone else she retains all the rights of a parent, including the right to determine with whom her child spends time. You are only the boyfriend and have no legal standing whatsoever to challenge her mother’s decisions. Obviously you do not like that, but that’s the way it is. When you date a minor, you have to accept that the minor’s parents have a say in the relationship.

I'm the only good thing she has. If her mom ends up getting a restraining order on me how will it stand? Restraining orders are to keep a child safe and away from any danger. I'm only 2 and a half years older than her. I thought she could over ride her mom.

She cannot over ride her mom until she is of legal age to do so. That would be 18.

It's a sad situation, I am sure, but there is literally nothing you can do except obey mom's wishes, or risk having a restraining order. Violating the restraining order can have a detrimental effect on your future.

Bottom line here: 100% of the legal rights here belong to Mom. You have no legal rights whatsoever in this situation; Daughter's rights are whatever Mom says they are.

This will not change until Daughter is 18.

No loopholes. No exceptions.

In addition to all of this, if your girlfriend has been a victim of sexual assault, she needs to get into counseling. The fact that you are the only good thing in her life is troubling.

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Quoting SpiderJock

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I'm the only good thing she has. If her mom ends up getting a restraining order on me how will it stand? Restraining orders are to keep a child safe and away from any danger. I'm only 2 and a half years older than her. I thought she could over ride her mom.

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If the mother gets a restraining order against you, then you need to follow that order or risk contempt sanctions by the court. A restraining order is not issued only in situations of domestic violence, stalking, harassment, etc. It can be issued to prevent other kinds of unwanted contact, like a parent protecting a minor from contact with a boyfriend/girlfriend that the parent does not want. Understand that parents are presumed to act in their children’s best interests. If the parent believes that contact with you would not be in her daughter’s best interests, then she gets to make the decision to end that contact. You don’t have to like it and you don’t have to agree with it. But you do need to respect the mother’s decision and stay away. Your girlfriend does not have the power to override her mother. The law says that a minor is both the responsibility of, and under the control of, the parent. That lasts until she’s 18. Once that 18th birthday comes, she then can decide for herself whom to date.

We talked about it all,
Her mom says it wasn't her that order the restraining order. That my girlfriends DCS worker did. But the thing is I still haven't been served. Could there not even be one? I figured that the dcs worker would be ASAP with something like this..