Father threatening to take me to court over residence of our 16 year old son

[CorinaK]

Hi,

My ex and I split when our son was 3 years old. A residential order was put in place giving us 50/50 custody.

My son turned 16 in July so the order has now expired. We carried on with the 50/50 arrangement but now my son wishes to live with me full time and stay at his dad's alternative weekends due to his father's controlling nature, plus he wants to have more of a solid base rather moving back and forth between the two of us.

My son has been living with me full time since Nov 2019 but his dad is now threatening to take me to court for sole custody if we don't resume the 50/50 arrangement. My son has told him his wishes but his dad refuses to listen to him or me.

Will a court listen to my son, who is very mature for his age and knows his own mind or his dad?* Would his application even get to a court hearing if there is no longer a residence order in place??

[ostell]

If your son wants to stay with you then the court would listen to his wishes and, as he 1s 16, take notice of them. Your ex is just being a bully

[CorinaK]

....

[CorinaK]

Thanks Ostell. That was what I initially though but wasn't sure if there were exceptions especially since my spiteful ex will do and say anything in order to get is way as it is all about ego with him and not what is in the best interest of our son.