legal question-adult stepson

I'd say write up an agreement/contract that specifically pinpoints rent, and nothing more. Any accidents/legal issues should be his own responsibility, not your's, though imo. He has, after all, been a legal adult of the US system for 2 years now.

 

Good question. I'm a practicing litigator out here in LA, and, like Lambo said, go with a writing. However, I'd take it farther than that, and have the writing struck between him and you guys specifically discuss the fact that you (and his mom, and anybody else living in the house, for that matter) are absolutely not liable for any of his damages, whether they are created out on the road, in the house, outside the house, at any other location, in cyberspace, etc., regardless, also, of whether the damages are intentional, caused through negligence, etc.

To some extent, there is an argument that you are liable for his damages, and a writing will help deal with this issue.

Hope this helps.

Good for charging him rent, too. That's definitely the right thing to do, in my opinion. My dad said either go to college or stay home and pay rent. I chose the former.

 

to continue . . .

sorry, I forgot to add a couple things. It should be made clear to him, specifically in the writing, that he is to drive only his vehicle (which is in his name) and for which he pays his own insurance. It should be made clear to him, also, that he does not have permission to drive any of your vehicles at all, ever, period.

 

Save the hassle and do him a favor by making him get a shared accommodation somewhere else. It'll be tough convincing Mommy of that but everyone will win in the long run. The kid will need to be more resourceful to make it happen but will grow from it. Good luck with it.

 

It sounds like you really don't trust this kid. Is he only moving back in because of how the economy is? If so, it seems like he is atleast semi-responsible and just got stuck in the situation b/c of how the country is. Has he ever drunk and drive? If not, do you think he is the only person under 21 that drinks? Who doesn't drive fast? This is a Ferrari website.

I'm not saying you shouldn't charge rent or have some rules, but everyone is making it seem like he should be made into a prisoner.

 

Are you charging him rent simply so that you can remove legal liability? Or is it because you think he is an adult now and should be paying?

Guess I should be a little more grateful that my parents have an open door policy.

 

I have an 18 yr old step son. Hes also a good kid but a tendency to be lazy !!
He just turned 18 in May and wanted a car, and then for me to put him on my auto policy. I said F no. You need to work and supply both. To make a long story short, His A Hole father bought him a 300 dollar piece of sh*t which was left in daddy A Holes name and my stepson was using the car [ so called borrowing ]. Well, he was driving down the road while texting someone and rearended an SUV. He totaled the car. Guess what, MY RATES ARENT GOING UP !!!! thank god !! If any sueing is going to happen, hes responsible, not me nor his mother, hes LEGAL AGE !.
Since your son stepson is legal age he would be responsible for any adverse actions taken. If you were living with your mom and got caught breaking any laws would your mom be responsible ?? HELL NO !!.

 

+ 1000000000000000000000000000000000000

I was just going to suggest the same thing!!!

Even if you have to offset some cost to make this happen it will benefit everyone in the long run.

I would imagine it would appear more attractive to your step son also!!

Do this and you will not have to worry about restocking the Fridge every morning with your favorite beer!

 

im 23.... and when I was still in highschool my parents told " you need to start thinking about your future and you pretty much have two choices..to carry on with my education, as long as I was in school I was welcomed to return home for breaks. If i wanted to MOVE out then that was me saying I was ready to be a man and take the responsibility and there would be hard time but Id get through it. OR I could Live at home as long as I had a job and paid rent which included a portion of the utilities and a portion for food consumption (the actual cooking was free ;-)

-I made my move out at 18 because i thought I was mature enough then to do it and sure enough there were hard times- I cut back on hanging out with friends, going to the movies, going karting, I had to stop AutoXing for a season. My direction turned to work and paying my bills but you know what It paid off and I took care of my bills and saved some money and now im not turning back to mom and dad.

I think you need to evaluate his situation: Does he have a job? is he trying to line up interviews if he doesnt? whats REALLY his financial problem that he needs to come back- is he charging CC's for $200 t-shirts and new D&G sunglasses? is he drinking Patron Every time he drinks- His his unlimited Internet, Txt, calling Iphone really needed? (not saying he has one but ive seen friends with $300 phone bills)- point is this is he having economic trouble because hes extended himself on foolish things or is it true economic trouble in the terms of, he shops reasonably, has bills he can afford, has SOME savings, but at the currently moment hes lost hours or lost a job and needs to get an income back.

My parents would Laugh at me if i told them I was having trouble (granted even my finances are getting slim ) first thing they'd say is "then why dont you try selling one of your cars and getting something you can pay cash for , then how about getting rid of that TV for something smaller if you really need one, did you really need those new puma shoes ? - why dont you start to sacrifice a little and be more responsible with your budgeting" Im prepared to do that now because they've watched me do it before in the end they told me they understood it was hard because i worked hard to that point to have the car i had but if i continue to work hard id be able to get another one someday if i really wanted it (which I have acquired again).

Goodluck on your situation - I hope my own story might give you a different perspective to look at.

 

Yep. To Srf you listen! If he is not in school he should not live at home for more than a week or so.

 

Call your homeowner's and Auto insurer. He'll tell you what their position is. that's the important opinion to get.

If your kid is living at home and gets involved in something unfortunate, you can be sure you'll be added to the list of folks who get sued. They might not win, but you'll be on the list.

Ask your insurer if they'll cover the cost of your defense, whether or not your kid is specifically insured or not. As your ins co. they should cover your defense costs in any liability action against you. find out what your up front cost will be.

Legally, I'm sure there's a lawyer here who will chime in, but as others have said, he must not drive any of your vehicles, and the onen he does drive MUST be on its own policy and in his name. For everything from parking tickets to accidents, if the car is in your name you will be held responsible. I have a 22 yr old who still can't figure out that not paying a parking ticket is ultimately more expensive than paying them, and the bills come to me when she skips them. Re-registering her car in her name is priority 1 for me right now as a result.

DM

 

...let him grow up. (At age 20 I owned my first house free and clear)

 

I looked into this a number of years ago when I got married to a woman with a teenaged son. IIRC, the key legal phrase is "in loco parentis". Supposedly my own assets were not at risk due to his behavior as long as he still had a father on the scene. My insurance agent made me exclude him from my auto policy due to his tickets, and I guess that was fine with me. He turned out OK.

 

20-something daughter you say?