How old do children have to be to choose where to live?

The Family Law Act (1975) does not specify an age for when a child can choose where to live, however there are general understandings and practises. From the age of 12 years, a child’s wishes are considered – just considered. It is no guarantee that your 12yo child will be able to choose where to live.

Can a child 12 years of age decide which parent they want?

What Texas law provides, however, is a method by which a Child over 12 years of age may have their wishes, desires, or opinions known with regard to residency and primary conservatorship (i.e. which parent do they want to live with). There could be many issues affecting this –…

How old do you have to be to decide who you live with in Ontario?

But as a child gets closer to the age of majority, which is 18 years old in Ontario, they have more say about where and with whom they live. And it is rare for a court to make an order about decision-making responsibility and parenting time about for a child who is 16 years old or older.

Can a child choose who to live with in England?

In England and Wales a child can choose who to live with from the age of 16, unless there are certain Court Orders in place that say otherwise.

Can a child decide which parent to live with?

According to California Family Code Section 3042, if your child is “of sufficient age and capacity to reason so as to form an intelligent preference as to custody or visitation, the court shall consider, and give due weight to, the wishes of the child in making an order granting or modifying custody or visitation.”

How old do children have to be to make their own decisions?

Many parents tell me their child will be 12 years old, 13 years old, 14 years old soon and will be able to make their own decisions. They appear to be uniformly surprised to learn that a minor child does not have the legal right to decide which parent to live with.

How does the age of your child matter?

Depending on the jurisdiction in which you live, the age of your child may matter only in terms of the weight a judge might give to a child’s preference, should he or she have one. In general, the older they are the more their preference might be considered. Their preferences are not usually considered in a vacuum, however.

When is a child allowed to choose a parent?

At the age of sixteen the child is legally allowed to chose what parent he or she wishes to live with. Regardless of what the parent says the child can still chose

When do children get the right to choose a primary care giver?

However, a child is not legally entitled to choose who to live with until the age of 16. Therefore it usually falls to the parents to decide who is going to be the ‘primary care-giver’ (meaning the person the child lives with). For some families the decision will be clear while for others it could be more complicated.

At the age of sixteen the child is legally allowed to chose what parent he or she wishes to live with. Regardless of what the parent says the child can still chose

Can a child choose which parent to live with after a divorce?

Many years ago, a child’s right to choose which parent to live with after a divorce was limited. It wasn’t until the passage of Family Code Section 3042 in 1992 that a child’s rights to decide which parent to live with were clearly defined.

When do children decide where they want to live in Arizona?

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.

How old does a child need to be to choose which parent to live with?

How Old Does a Child Need to Be to Choose which Parent to Live With? Family Code Section 3042 states 14 as an age at which a child may address the court; however, this does not prohibit younger children from addressing the court regarding custody or visitation .

Can a sixteen year old choose where to live?

Yes you can choose where you want to live. At the age of sixteen the child is legally allowed to chose what parent he or she wishes to live with.

When do children get to choose their living arrangements?

So here is the simple answer- at law, children don’t get to choose their living arrangements until they are adults- in other words when they turn 18. But life is never quite that simple and we all know as parents that children (even toddlers!) have plenty of views about their lives that they are only too happy to share with us.