Want to dispose of minor son's property. Can a minor have property rights?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[A father] has no title to the property of the child, nor is the capacity or right of the latter to take property or receive money by grant, gift or otherwise, except as a compensation for services, in any degree qualified or limited during minority. Whatever therefore an infant acquires which does not come to him as a compensation for services rendered, belongs absolutely to him, and his father cannot interpose any claim to it, either as against the child, or as against third persons who claim title or possession from or under the infant. Hoblyn v. Johnson, 55 P.3d 1219, 1228 (Wyo. 2002) (quoting Banks v. Conant, 96 Mass. 497 (1867)).

This case does not apply to the present situation as it states:

Despite the general rule, parents do retain property rights in certain items they provide their children for the purpose of support, maintenance, or education such as clothing and books. ? 1 Kramer, Legal Rights of Children, supra at §?8.12; ?67A C.J.S. Parent and Child, supra at §?119. ? It is uncontroverted the daughter's paternal grandfather?8 gave the horse to her as a gift, the horse was titled in her name, and it was not necessary for her support or maintenance. ? As a matter of law, the horse belonged to the daughter, and the parents had no implied authority over it simply because of their proprietary interest in the premises on which it was located.

The game system described by the OP was purchased from the child's earnings, which is explicitly listed as property that is owned by parents. If the horse had been purchased by the child through her earnings, the outcome would have been different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. How old is your minor son? This is a very different problem if he is 7 or 17, in either case you can address the conduct without choosing to completely disrespect his autonomy. Don’t take actions in anger, take a deep breath and figure out what you want to change and a non authoritarian way to get there.

Since he has no "autonomy", there is nothing to disrespect.

People who "whine" about "authoritarian" parents are invariably shitty, weak parents who are unable to control their awful children.

Funny, I think shitty parents (to use your phrase) are the authoritarian ones. Of course, I am only focused on the emotional well being of the child and raising a child that wants a relationship with his/her parents past reaching adulthood. You do you.

[Anonymous]

What an asshole.

[Anonymous]

Kids know how to get around you turning off the wifi. Just sayin'.

[Anonymous]

Reminds me of this classic video...

Warning: Language

[Anonymous]

I just take the controller. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to dispose of, without consent, a gaming device my minor son bought with his own money and brought into our house which I own. I think this is OK as he has no property rights, correct?

NO! Your child bought something with his own money and you want to get rid of it? Your logic is very faulty. Of course, your child has property rights! Just because you own the house doesn't mean they can't own something. Think back when you were a kid...what if your mom/dad did this to you? How would you respond?

My question to you is do you want to have a good relationship with your child? How would your child trust you again if you did this? If you are upset that they are using it too much you can put limits on the use but, it is wrong to throw it away. You might be throwing away more than the device if you do so!

Ah...but what is "his own money" really? Did he first take that money he earned and use it to pay for gas that is required to drive him places?...his car? insurance?...what about fees that are required for him to play the sport he loves?...school supplies?...that 'must-have' pair of sneakers for school?
There are a lot of things beyond basic food/clothing/shelter that this kid's parents provide that are not required. And if he were suddenly required to pay for them himself, he wouldn't have much of "his own money" left to buy things his parents don't approve of. So I say OP has a right to say "nope...you're not spending your money on that."
When he's out of the house on his own and is totally self-sufficient, he can spend "his own money" however he wants! Until then, OP absolutely has control over this.

That said, I agree with the second paragraph from PP above in that there are better ways to approach this than to summarily toss the device in the trash. Preserving the relationship should be key. But so should correcting the sense of entitlement that so many minors have about what is "their own money" without any regard for why they even have the luxury of spending that money on anything other than essentials for living in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Grow a pair. Of course you can toss it. What is the kid going to do? Sue you? I can’t believe some of you are confusing a gift of land or stock with something as insipid as a gaming device.

[Anonymous]

That's really mean OP!
Why not set up some gaming rules instead.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure your kid will be convinced by your internet research on his property rights!

[Anonymous]

I'm in the camp that while technically, you should be able to toss it, there are better ways to handle the situation. Locking it up, sticking it under your desk at work, cutting the wifi, are effective ways to deal with it.

To all of these property rights people, read pp's post substitute the word BB gun. Heck, substitute the word "puppy" - of course parents retain the right to determine what is brought into their home-- especially by their kids.

That said, OP, what kind of relationship do you want with your child?

[Anonymous]

So, OP, Mom said she’s gonna take your video game system and throw it in tg dumpster behind CVS, and you’re looking for somebody to say she can’t?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids know how to get around you turning off the wifi. Just sayin'.

Don’t turn it off, just change the password every 24 hours. You can also buy a jammer.

[Anonymous]

Minors can have property rights. Look at all the child celebrities who sue their parents for squandering their money.

If you are worried your kid will call the cops or sue you for taking away the gaming system, you have bigger issues.

You could always put the system in a safe (or a safe deposit box or storage unit) rather than getting rid of it altogether.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. How old is your minor son? This is a very different problem if he is 7 or 17, in either case you can address the conduct without choosing to completely disrespect his autonomy. Don’t take actions in anger, take a deep breath and figure out what you want to change and a non authoritarian way to get there.

Since he has no "autonomy", there is nothing to disrespect.

People who "whine" about "authoritarian" parents are invariably shitty, weak parents who are unable to control their awful children.

Funny, I think shitty parents (to use your phrase) are the authoritarian ones. Of course, I am only focused on the emotional well being of the child and raising a child that wants a relationship with his/her parents past reaching adulthood. You do you.

Both weak and authoritarian parents can be shitty. The goal should be to steer a middle ground between the two. For example, setting strict limits on when a gaming device can be used, rather than letting them play whenever they want, or throwing it in the trash after they saved up their own money to buy it.