NC Family Law - At What Age Should A Child Be Able To Decide Who To Live With?

that's a very difficult question and I'm going to try to get to it in a very short manner.

The answer is, it depends. I understand everybody hates that answer from a lawyer, "it depends," but it really does depend on the maturity of the child and the circumstances.

For instance, if you have a 12-year old who wants to go live with dad because dad lets the 12-year old do whatever he or she wants at their house and they can basically get away with murder, does that child have some input? Yes. Does the court listen to him? Yes. Is the court going to allow that? Probably not. The decision has to be a valid, thought-out decision.

Now, think of this as a spectrum. The older the child gets, the more input they get into where they want to live. So, a 12-year old saying "I want to live with dad because I'm more comfortable," will have less input in that final decision as a 17-year old who wants to live with mom. It's a spectrum. The older they get, the more input they get. What they don't get is to make that decision. That's a judge's job or their parents' job.

McIlveen Family Law Firm
401 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
(704) 557-0131