age a child can choose who to live with
Information Provided by: Candace M. Williams, Esq. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3, (5)-(6), in all custody cases in which the child has reached the age of 14 years, the child shall have the right to select the parent with whom he or she desires to live. In my realistic and disgruntled approach, I want to say: Children have no rights. The courts only seem concerned about the parents rights. In my experience, that seems almost, but not universally true. Technically speaking, a child has no legal 'right to choose'. Do I want to live with mom or dad after the divorce? But what does the law say? In Pennsylvania, at what age can a child legally decide which parent to live with? As most family law attorneys will tell you, the answer is not as steadfast as a drinking age, or age to vote. There is no magic number. A judge will take a child’s preference into account, along with that child’s age, maturity and other factors. It’s subjective and varies from case to case. No Pennsylvania divorce lawyer can say for certain what the answer can be – it really depends. The childs right to choose which parent to live with varies considerably from state to state. There seems to be a misconception among parents that there is a magical age (usually 12, 13, or 14) at which a child can choose one custodial arrangement over another. (6) In all custody cases in which the child has reached the age of 11 but not 14 years, the judge shall consider the desires and educational needs of the child in determining which parent shall have custody. In dealing with the decided preference of an older child to live with the father, the Foskett Court said: Incumbent on the trial court therefore, is the duty to apply all the statutory best interests factors to each individual child. July 11, 2012 By admin 1 Comment. Parents of divorced or separated parents often want to know when their children can decide where they want to live. In fact, Arizona has no “magic age” at which the children can choose their own parenting time schedule. The Court does consider the wishes of the children in determining custody and parental access. In Michigan, the judge has almost limitless latitude in deciding whether he will listen to a childs preference and in deciding how much weight that preference will be given. But it is safe to say that in Michigan, there is no specific age when a child can dictate with whom she wants to live. Every case is fact-driven and the particular circumstances of the familys situation will matter as much or more than the child's age and the childs preference. When parents work together, the children benefit. Alona M. Gottfried is a family law mediator and attorney in Arizona. If you have questions about mediation, she can be reached at: 480-998-1500 or alona@sglawaz.com. This is a general interest article only and is not intended to be legal advice. “The weight to be accorded a child’s preference varies with the age, maturity and intelligence of that child, together with the reasons given for the preference. Moreover, as children grow older, more weight must be given to the preference of the child.” Wheeler v. Mazur, 793 A.2d 929 (Pa. Super. 2002).
14 years.