Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Re: Child Age

There is no hard and fast rule giving a child the right to determine which parent will have custody. Courts won't generally give a child's preferences siginificant weight until a child is determined to have a sufficient level of maturity. Courts generally would rather have the child through a Guardian Ad Litem (child's lawyer) indicate to the Court the child's thought concerning primary residence.

Re: Child Age

Generally, a child must be at least 12-14 before a judge will even consider taking their testimony. There is no set rule on this as it depends on the maturity level of the child. In my experience I would say not until they are 15 or 16 at least.