Custody questions

[forrest]

A little background first
Father of 2 Boys 16 and 9 years old.
Divorced from their mother.
Have the 2 of them visiting me during summer break, Which ends on 15 Aug.
My 2 sons have asked me to live with me, not their Mother, They are currently living with her sharing a room with her and they all are living at a friend of Moms, They do not like the living arrangements and want to go to school here I live out of state of Florida.
Questions:
Are they old enough to decide who to live with at their ages?
What action do i need to take to make it legal?
They are supposed to fly back but have said they do not want to go and will fight going on the plane, im sure this will put me into some hot water so legally what are my options and how do I make it happen?

[Attorney Cheri Hobbs]

I can sympathize with your situation but legally your children do not get to make that choice. And unfortunately the court/judge will not let your child(ren) make that decision. Whether or not the children do not want to fly home to mom it is YOUR responsibility as an ADULT to instruct your children that this is the current time sharing arrangement. Then you can on your own (not as a group decision - your children should not be privy to your court battles with the ex) file a Supplemental Petition to Modify Time Sharing - you will need a substantial change in circumstance (not just that your child wants this) in order for the petition to have effect. You will have to file in the county where your divorce was finalized and have your ex personally served by a process server. You can motion the court for the 16 year old to testify but many judges will deny such a request.