Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: How old must a child be to choose which parent he wants to live with?

Under Minnesota law, custody may be changed only if the child is endangered in his or her current environment and the benefit of the change outweighs any harm.

A child may never make the decision where he/se will live if endangerment in some form, physical, developmental or emotional is not alleged. If endangermentis alleged, the child's wishes are one one of the considered by the Court, assuming the child is old enough to express his/her desires. The child's wishes are generally not dispositive on the issue and are weighed as only one factor out of many. As the child matures, their opinions will carry greater weight.

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Re: How old must a child be to choose which parent he wants to live with?

In both initial custody and modificiation situations, the rule is that a child's wishes may be taken into consideration if the child is of sufficient age and maturity to express a preference. There is no specific age at which that is deemed to occur. For example, children as old as 17 can be, and in some cases have been, held to be of insufficient maturity to express a preference, while in other cases judges have given consideration to much younger children. Even if old enough for his opinion to be given consideration, however, a child's preference is never controlling. The court will weigh a variety of factors to determine what custody arrangement is in the child's best interest.