Legal Question in Family Law in Canada

Re: Child

In British Columbia there is no set age except the age of majority which a child attains on her 19th birthday. At that age the child's wishes are final as the individual, while she may still be dependant, is an adult.

At younger ages it is common to consult the child as to what is the child's preference with greater weight being placed on the child's wishes as the child gains greater maturity. Thus generally speaking the older a child the more weight is placed on his wishes, but it can and does occur that a younger child who is more mature will have greater weight attached to her wishes than an older child who is not as mature.

Attention should be paid to how much of the child's wishes are really that of the child and how much is a reflection of what one of the parent wants, or how much the child has been influenced by one parent. The object is to determine the child's own wishes, not what the child may say after having been coached by a parent. In fact too much coaching can lead to a finding that the parent coaching the child may not be the best place for the child to reside, if the coaching is seen as leading to a lessening of the parental ties with the other parent. This in more extreme forms is called "parental alienation" and frequently leads to the non-alienating parent being awarded custody.

There are Registered Clinical Counsellors, Psychologists & Psychiatrists who are adept at interviewing children to determine their own wishes, and who are good at separating out what the child has been coached to say she wishes as opposed to what the child really thinks. These are excellent resources and should be used if there is any hint of a parent adversly influencing what a child says he wishes.