Although CA law states that a child has to be 14 years old to tell a judge which parent they prefer to live with, can it happen with a young...

Question

Although CA law states that a child has to be 14 years old to tell a judge which parent they prefer to live with, can it happen with a younger child? My 12 year old daughter wants to live with me but my ex-husband does not want to discuss it.

Answer

That is not what CA law says. CA law says that at 14 and above the child has the RIGHT to tell the court what they think about a custody/parenting plan. Younger than that it is at the discretion of the court to hear from the child or not. Just yesterday the court services evaluator in Yolo County spoke to my client's 6 and 9 year olds before making a recommendation to the court.

Answer

You can ask the court to hear from the child as Mr McCormick says. You should discuss this with your attorney.