It All Depends on the Child’s Best Interest
Video Transcribed: When does my child get to pick which parent he or she lives with? Hi, I’m Ty Smith, a lawyer in Oklahoma City with Wirth Law Office, and we get this question a lot in custody cases, cases in which folks are either divorced or were never together to begin with, but they have kids together.
The kids are typically getting older and starting to express who they want to live with, and which household they’d rather live with. And so certainly as they get older, it’s true, just like you would trust an older kid with any other major decision, the courts also tend to give more credence the older the kid gets towards their ability to choose who they want to live with.
The standard age at which a child’s preference is considered is 12. That’s when they start to think and the court is going to take a listen to whether the kid should be with mom or dad, depending on what they say.
The big overarching theme that you always want to go with when it comes to custody is what’s in the best interest of the child. And that certainly is a flexible standard and it’s your attorney’s job, and your job as well as a part of this team, to show the court that what you want is what’s in the best interest of the child. It’s simply once the kid turns 12 years old, the judge can start considering, “Well, this little kid wants to go live with dad.” That’s an added factor, an added weight towards that direction.
Now, if dad isn’t a good dad or mom lets the kids stay up all night, they never do their homework when they’re with mom, the kids are out and about all the time when they’re with mom and they actually have to do what they’re told, what their responsibilities are when they’re with dad or something like that, and the kids are saying, “Oh, we want to live with dad for sure. He lets us do whatever we want.” A judge will only consider what the kids want.
The big overarching theme is what’s in the best interest of the kid. So, as the kid gets older, of course, the judge is going to start to give that more weight, especially once they get to be about 17, if the kid wants to go live with one parent, not the other, they’re probably going to grant it. Probably, but not necessarily.
So, if you or someone you know is in this situation or something that sounds not dissimilar to it, please reach out to me, a child custody attorney in Oklahoma. I’m at theoklahomacityattorney.com. I’m sure you have more questions than I have answered here today. I’d gladly speak to you and I’d love to answer more of your questions. I appreciate your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you.
