Question by ¡ooq ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ: In divorce and child custody cases – do the opinions of the children have any weight in the ruling?
If the children, say, have a strong liking towards one parent – or have a strong dislike toward a stepparent – do their objections have any weight in court rulings in deciding child custody? Or is it all based on income, possessions, all calculative?
Best answer:
Answer by amccoy1962
Depends from state to state, in Tennessee for example a 12 years old can decide with whom he/she wants to live with. You need to look at your state statutes under child custody to find out the local laws.
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“Or is it all based on income, possessions, all calculative?” – This has nothing to do with it. It’s all based on what is best for the child, not which parent has more material goods to offer the child.
And yes, the child’s opinion can be a factor. How much depends on the age of the child and the state they live in. If the child is 6, their opinion is not going to be considered much in the final ruling. But if the child is 16, their opinion will be a major factor, and basically will only be disregarded if the parent he/she wants to live with is proven to be a child molester or something else that is high risk to harm the child.
It all depends on their age, the judge in the case will consider any input and place credence on the persons desire depending on their age a maturity.}{
It depends on the ages of the children. They may take it into account, however they would never base the decision completely on what the child thinks. Remember, a child may choose to live with the parent who has less rules. Judges realize this.
Unless there is documentable evidence of abuse on either side, or the child is too young to make a decision, I would think that, yes they do have a say in who they want to spend their life with until they are 18.