My daughter is 16 and her boyfriend is 17. My ex-wife wants to book a hotel room for them to celebrate my daughters 17th birthday and I am totally against it.. What are the legal reprecautions this action could evolve.

Two scenarios come to mind:

• No real legal risk: If the hotel room is the location for an event or birthday party and there is adult supervision throughout the duration of the event.
• Possible legal risk and violations of hotel policies: If the hotel room is reserved by an adult, parent or guardian and teenagers are allowed to have a party without the adults supervision, there is certainly potential for problems. (i.e. injury accidents, potential property damages, noise or nuisance reports by other guests, potential legal violations such as underage drinking, drug use, sex and the like.) If Hotel policies are violated or criminal legal issues arise, there may also be potential for civil suets. It's all about liability and culpability. Minor's can not be legally bound or responsible for a contract, but the parents can. Minors are not allowed to rent hotel rooms, cars or apartments for that reason.

Certainly, not all teens are equal when it comes to maturity. There are teenagers who are responsible enough to handle situations like this and there are those who are not. It is always our opinion that destructive temptations present themselves often enough to teens without the adults in their lives encouraging or creating an open environment for them to find trouble. What you describe would certainly be a judgment call on the part of the parents and should be determined by the confidence level they have in their teenager's ability to make good decisions. Also, they should be certain the hotel doesn't have policies against it. There can always be legal issues that arise in any circumstances like this. For the teens, it all boils down to the decisions they make in the face of temptations that involve violating laws.