When parents divorce or stop living together, they still have shared obligations to their children. They have to work out an arrangement to share their parental rights and responsibilities. Parents may not agree on how to divide parenting time or decision-making authority.
In some cases, they have to take the matter to family court. When that happens, a judge must decide the best way to divide custody between the parents. Especially when children are older, they may have their own preferences regarding where they live or how much time they spend with each parent.0
Do children get to make major decisions about their custody arrangements while they are minors?
Judges focus on the children’s best interests
Technically, every state has slightly different rules for custody. The one consistent factor in most jurisdictions is that the main concern is acting in the best interests of the children. The factors that judges consider when determining a child’s best interests are different from one state to the next.
However, no state allows children to outright dictate the terms of a custody order. Older, more mature children with well-reasoned preferences can describe their wishes to a judge. The judge can then consider their preferences along with multiple other unique factors about the family when deciding the best way to split custody.
Even when teenagers express an aversion to spending time with one parent, judges are likely to require them to do so. It is typically in the best interests of the children to maintain healthy relationships with both parents, even if they have a closer bond with one parent as compared to the other.
Parents who have recently gone through a rocky time in their relationships with their children can still request parenting time and decision-making authority. They can also hold their co-parents responsible if they do not comply with the custody order and use the children’s wishes as an excuse.
Learning about the unique rules that apply to child custody orders can help parents develop a strategy for family court. Even those going through a difficult time in their relationships with their children can typically ask for parenting time in a litigated custody case.
