Age a child can choose?

[Fairisfair1964]

Is there anyone out there, that knows the legal age a child in Massachusetts can decide which parent they would rather live with? I have three step children, 17, 14 & 10. The 17 yr old lives with my husband and I, the 14 & 10 yr old live with their Mother. The mother still tells probate that she has custody of her 3 children and even went and got public assistance. How can people get away with frauding and lying to the state and the court?
Their environment in which they live is nothing less then criminal. The 14 & 10 yr olds are very un-happy and want out of the environment, and away from the physical & mental abuse and brainwashing that they hear on a daily basis from their mother who most definiitely has dependency issues and possible mental illness. This woman doesn't care about her kids only the money that she gets for them. This woman doesn't work, and spies on my husband and I, takes pictures of us and follows up around....I think it's called harrassment....can we legally stop her form doing this? jealous and weird....Any suggestions would be happyily recieved.

 

[Duranie]

If your husband wants custody he needs to file for it. Its possible that the opinions of the kids might be taken into consideration. Do you live in the same state? Dad needs to be able to prove why a change in custody is in the kids best interest. Refrain from slamming mom and put together documentation on why the kids would be better off with dad.

 

[jimmysgirl]

Is there anyone out there, that knows the legal age a child in Massachusetts can decide which parent they would rather live with? I have three step children, 17, 14 & 10. The 17 yr old lives with my husband and I, the 14 & 10 yr old live with their Mother. The mother still tells probate that she has custody of her 3 children and even went and got public assistance. How can people get away with frauding and lying to the state and the court?
Their environment in which they live is nothing less then criminal. The 14 & 10 yr olds are very un-happy and want out of the environment, and away from the physical & mental abuse and brainwashing that they hear on a daily basis from their mother who most definiitely has dependency issues and possible mental illness. This woman doesn't care about her kids only the money that she gets for them. This woman doesn't work, and spies on my husband and I, takes pictures of us and follows up around....I think it's called harrassment....can we legally stop her form doing this? jealous and weird....Any suggestions would be happyily recieved.

WE cant do anything legally, only your husband can, these are his children. your husabnd is going to have to prove the kids are better off living with him. the 10 yr old is too young to express their wishes, but the 14 yr old is, but untill they are 18, its up to the judge, not the kids, to decide where they live

 

[Scooterdog]

WE cant do anything legally, only your husband can, these are his children. your husabnd is going to have to prove the kids are better off living with him. the 10 yr old is too young to express their wishes, but the 14 yr old is, but untill they are 18, its up to the judge, not the kids, to decide where they live

My son testified when he was 10, and I have complete custody and control. The state of Montana says 13, but my son testified befor that. Depends on the maturity of the child and the situation.

You'll have to look at your states statutes, and see what the age is for this. The 14 year old should easily be old enough to sway the judge 80% the other way. Again, these things very from state to state.

You can go to your states supreme court web site and do a search of cases pertaining to custody/testimony. Good luck.

 

[cbg]

I'm in Massachusetts, and the age at which a child can choose where to live is 18. However, that doesn't mean that if the NCP applies for custody, the judge will not listen to the child and take his or her wishes into consideration. That's how my husband ended up with custody of his daughter; she was about 14 but the judge listened to her reasons why she wanted to live with her dad, listened to my husband's reasons why it would be in her best interest to live with him, and ruled in their favor.

So the first step is for your husband to apply to the court to take custody. The kids won't be able to simply say, We want to live with Dad, and have the judge say, Okay, that's all I need to hear. But that doesn't mean there's no chance of a change.

 

[Scooterdog]

Could we see a statute on this "18"? Most states they can emancipate at 16, and that is more severe than deciding if you want to live with mom or dad. A judge would have to have some damn good reasons for not listening, and would really be risking a Federal action if something ever happened to the children because he/she didn't listen.

If the judge didin't listen, appeal. You MUST appeal each and every motion, decision and so forth that is not in your favor(If you don't, it will be alot harder later on trying to change things). Always prepair you case for the appeal, from the very begining.

 

[cbg]

Actually, according the the figures I've seen, less than one percent of teens who apply for emancipation (which is NOT going to live with the other parent) are approved. And no, MOST states do not emancipate at 16; a lot of states will not emancipate a minor at all, and those who will generally do it under very limited circumstances. Emancipation of a minor means the child becomes self-sufficient and is living on their own, supporting himself; it does not mean that he gets to decide with which parent he wants to live.

At no time did I say the judge would not listen; just that it takes more than a minor saying, "I want to live with (the other parent)".

 

[Scooterdog]

Massachusetts
Emancipation
Chapter 201, Section 5

Over half, aka most, have laws for it or similar

States emancipation laws:

Alabama
"Relief of Minor Children from Disabilities of Nonage"
Title 26, Chapter 13
Age of Majority: 19; Relief of Minor Children from Disabilities is only available to minors over age of 18

Alaska
Family Law Self Help Center

Arizona
There is no emancipation status in this state

Arkansas
There is no emancipation status in this state

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C
CaliforniaEmancipation of Minors Law Family Code Sections 7000-7002

ColoradoEmancipated Juvenile
Title 19, Article 1

ConnecticutOrder of Emancipation
Title 46b-150

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D
Delaware
There is no emancipation status in this state

District of Columbia
There is no emancipation status in this district

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F
FloridaRemoval of the Disabilities of Nonage
Chapter 743
Must be at least 16 years of age
Must have a petition filed by the minor's natural or legal guardian or, if there is none, by a guardian ad litem.

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G
Georgia
There is no emancipation status in this state

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H
Hawaii
Emancipation
Chapter 577-25.Division 3, Title 31?

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I
Idaho
There is no emancipation status in this state

IllinoisEmancipation of Mature Minors Act
Chapter 750, ILCS 30
Must be at least 16 years old

Indiana
There is no emancipation status for this state

Iowa
There is no emancipation status for this state

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K
Kansas
District Court May Confer Rights of Majority
Chapter 38, Article 108

Kentucky
There is no emancipation status for this state

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L
LouisianaEmancipation
Civil Code Section 365, Chapter 2 (and other sections): Louisiana statutes on-line only allow the visitor to view one small section of the law at a time. Search the civil code using the keyword "emancipation" in order to find all of the sections pertaining to emancipation.

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M
MaineTitle 15. Part 6.
Maine Juvenile Code Chapter 511. Interim Care; Runaways) %

Maryland
Emancipation
Family Law Code 3-826.1

MassachusettsEmancipation
Chapter 201, Section 5

Michigan
Emancipation of Minors Act
Chapter 722.4

Minnesota
There is no emancipation status in this state

Mississippi
There is no emancipation status in this state

Missourri
There is no emancipation status in this state

MontanaEmancipation
Title 41, Chapter 3, Part 4

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N
Nebraska
There is no emancipation status in this state

NevadaEmancipation

Title 11, Chapter 129

New Hampshire
Emancipation
Title 1, Chapter 21-B-2

New Jersey
There is no emancipation status in this state

New Mexico
Emancipation
Chapter 32A, Article 21

New York
There is no emancipation status in this state

North Carolina
Emancipation
Chapter 7B, Sub-chapter 4, Article 35

North Dakota
There is no emancipation status in this state

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O
Ohio
There is no emancipation status in this state

OklahomaConfirmation of Majority Rights
Gives minors the legal right to contract, but rarely granted in court.

OregonEmancipation
Chapter 419B

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P
Pennsylvania
Laws on Emancipation vary from county to county
Please refer to JLC's fact sheet on emancipation in Pennsylvania.

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R
Rhode Island
Emancipation
Title 14, Chapter 1-59.1

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S
South Carolina
There is no emancipation status for this state

South Dakota
Emancipation
Title 25, Chapter 25-5-18 thru -27

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T
Tennessee
There is no emancipation status in this state

Texas
Title 2, Chapter 31

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U
UtahTitle 78, Section 3

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V
Emancipation
Title 12, Part 10, Chapter 217

VirginiaEmancipation
Title 16.1-331

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W
WashingtonEmancipation
Revised Code of Washington: 13.64

West Virginia
Emancipation
Chapter 49, Article 7-27

Wisconsin
There is no emancipation status in this state

Wyoming
Emancipation
Title 14, Chapter 1, Article 2

 

[Scooterdog]

Actually, according the the figures I've seen, less than one percent of teens who apply for emancipation (which is NOT going to live with the other parent) are approved. And no, MOST states do not emancipate at 16; a lot of states will not emancipate a minor at all, and those who will generally do it under very limited circumstances. Emancipation of a minor means the child becomes self-sufficient and is living on their own, supporting himself; it does not mean that he gets to decide with which parent he wants to live.

Who said it did?

At no time did I say the judge would not listen; just that it takes more than a minor saying, "I want to live with (the other parent)".

Man, I would like to see these "facts and figuers" you are pulling out of thin air.

More dis-information! My son did exactly that, to this exact question( case happened in Dec., 2003, before Judge Joe L. Hegel, 16th Judicial District Court Judge):

Judge: If your mother wanted to take you to Colorado for the weekend, what would you think of that.

Kyle: No sir! I'm fine with my dad.

Judge: MR. MacKay, Please sit down.

End of story,end of game, I have FULL custody and control. And by the way, my son was 10 years old. Perhaps you need to do some research rather than giving an opinion on what is going on.

 

[cbg]

And are you in the poster's state? What makes you think that all states handle it the same?

And what makes you think that a minor only has to go before a judge and say, I want to be emancipated, and the judge will say, okay, you're emancipated?

If you're so convinced that all a minor child in MA has to do is announce his preference and have it granted (and I was also talking out of personal experience, btw) by all means YOU post the statute that supports that.

 

[CdwJava]

I think you are arguing two different issues here: Emancipation versus input of the child.

Emancipation is, of course, the legal emancipation of the minor granting them many of the rights that an adult would have. In this case, the OP's issue is at what age a minor child is permitted to have say with regards to custody and/or visitation. That being the case, I think it is safe to say that few states (perhaps none at all) have a set age at which a minor can make that decision for themselves. Most courts I have seen will give the child some input - particularly as they get older - but they are most often not permitted to make the decision for themselves. The wishes of the child may be taken into consideration, but if they were the sole determinant in every case, then a NCP would almost never stand a chance in a contested matter because a CP could, theoretically, "brainwash" the child(ren) against the NCP and leave the NCP in the cold.

This seems to be an "apples" versus "oranges" argument here.

- Carl

 

[cbg]

Which is what I said initially. I"m not sure how emancipation got into this.