At what age can a child decide for himself which parent he wants to live with?

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At what age can a child decide for himself which parent he wants to live with?

May 14, 2012, 08:25:00 AM

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At what age can a child decide for himself which parent he wants to live with?

For a complete discussion on this subject, please see At What Age Can A Child Choose?

Articles in « Custody Questions »

• I'm new to all this...where do I start?
• Where can I find information about my State's child custody laws and statutes?
• At what age can my child decide who he/she wants to live with?
• I want to change custody. What do I have to do?
• Where can I find some general information on Joint Custody?
• What are some good arguments that support Joint Custody?
• Can my child talk to the judge and tell him where he wants to live?
• I'm worried that the other parent is going to 'snatch' the children and hide- what can I do?
• Do I have the right to see my child's school records?
• How can I get my child's report cards and other school records?
• How can I get my child's medical records?
• My child's school records don't list me as the father/mother. How can I fix this?
• What is the Right of First Refusal?
• Is unemployment a factor in awarding custody?
• My ex is (or was) using drugs; will that help me get custody?
• My ex was having an affair; will that help me get custody?
• My ex has some very extreme religious views; will that help me get custody?
• My ex has psychiatric problems; will that help me get custody?
• My ex is trying to alienate our child from me; will that help me get custody?
• My ex is a heavy drinker; will that help me get custody?
• My ex is associating with drug users / violent people / criminals. Will that help me get custody?
• Is it harder to initially determine custody or to change it later?
• My ex and I separated informally (without paperwork) quite some time ago. How will custody be decided after all this time?
• Where do we need to do to get a shared parenting order in different States?
• My ex is trying to take our child out of the country. How can I prevent this?
• The unmarried father of my child says if I leave the state with our daughter to go visit my dad, he'll have me arrested for 'kidnapping'. Can he do this?
• I'm the non-custodial parent. Do I have to get the custodial parent's permission before cutting my daughter's hair, or letting her pierce her ears?
• Does the non-custodial parent have the right to be involved in the decision-making as to the education of his/her children, especially as regards homeschooling?
• My ex is trying to get her new husband to adopt my children. I don't want to lose my kids. Can she do this against my will?
• My ex-girlfriend and I had a child together. She left the child with me but will not sign over custody. What are my chances of getting custody of our child?
• My ex, who has custody, is terminally ill and is unable to care for our child. Can I petition for a change in custody based on this?
• My girlfriend and I had a child. Problems arose, and she left with our infant child and went to another state. Can she legally do this?
• My spouse is accusing me of being gay. Can someone lose custody of their child for being gay or lesbian even though they're an excellent parent?
• My ex does not call, visit, or write our child. Is there any legal action I can take to make my ex use his/her visitation time?
• My child hasn't seen the non-custodial parent in over four months. The non-custodial parent now wants to resume visitation. Can I ask for supervised visits?
• My child's mother voluntarily gave up custody to me some time ago. Now she's back and saying that she's going to file for custody. What are her chances?
• When a child is born, is the mother automatically the custodial parent?
• I've been incarcerated before. Will this make it harder for me to get full custody of my child?
• My ex lost custody of our kids 9 months ago due to a domestic violence incident in her home. What are the chances of her getting custody back?
• My ex and I share joint legal custody. Does she have the right to dictate where and who the child is with during my parenting time?
• My ex and I have joint legal custody. She wants to leave state with our child. Can she do this?
• A married couple was given "Legal Guardianship" of a child from birth by the single 15 year old mother. Now, after 5 years, the mother wants the child back. What rights does this couple have because of the Legal Guardianship?
• How do I sign over custody of my child?
• I've only met my child once. He's 12 yrs old and his mother keeps moving him around. Right now he's with his grandmother and she's petitioning that the child support go to her. What are my chances for custody?
• My ex has been in the hospital for several weeks and has left my son with her mother. Shouldn't he be staying with me? What are my legal rights?
• What do I need to do to change custody of an 18 year old who wants to live with her father?
• My ex and I share joint legal custody. She wants to travel out of state with our 3 year old. Is she legally obligated to provide me with flight documentation, place where they will stay & phone number?
• With shared legal custody, if the primary custodial parent chooses to change from private to public school and the non custodial parent will not agree, who has the final decision?
• My 12 1/2 year old son refuses to go back to his other domicilary parent. He is under much stress at her house. He wants to stay with me, says he is happy with me. What can I do?
• My ex is petitioning the court to change to a new parenting schedule, saying it's to hard on our 4 year old. It's only been two months on a standard every-other-weekend schedule. I don't agree to the change, will a judge?
• At what age can a child decide for himself which parent he wants to live with?
• My fiance's wife has not had any contact for over 2 years with him or his daughter. What do I need to do to legally adopt her?
• At what age can a child decide NOT to return to the custodial parent's home?
• Can a unwed mother file for shared custody with outlined visitation if the father has a work schedule that changes each week?