Every state's standard is ';the best interest of the child.'; This means that the judge will always listen to the child's wishes, but the judge must also make an independent decision of which household is best for the child. As the child gets older, the judge tends to give the child's wishes more weight, but at no time is the child's wishes binding on the judge. This means the child never gets to ';choose'; which parent s/he lives with. For instance, if a 17 year old told the judge he wanted to live with his alcoholic drug-abusing father instead of his non-alcoholic, non-drug-using mother, the judge would listen politely and then award physical custody to the mother anyway.
The child's best interest is always the standard, no matter what the child wishes. However, when the two parents are roughly equally capable of caring for the child, then the child's wishes start weighing more in the decision. As the child gets older and can better understand what is involved, his/her wishes also start carrying more weight. The child never ';tells'; the court which parent s/he will live with.Legal age for a child to decide which parent to live with?
There is no age. A Judge may listen to and even rule on a child's interest but he is not required to by law. Children typically wan to live with the parent with fewest rules. Judges know this. A Judge rules on child's ';best interest';.
It's not so much a matter of telling the courts, if the child asks then the courts are obliged to consider it, no matter how old the child is. There is no legal age, matters in courts are resolved on a case by case basis.
It varies by state and you would need to consult with your lawyer to get the process moving.
I believe it is 14, but you should ask a youth advocate
its either 13 or 14 but they wont take his view into account only.
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