Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina
My question deals with child custody. Currently I have joint custody for my son who is 15 years old. His dad and I no longer live together and are currently going through a divorce. The arrangement for custody at this point is that I have him for a week and then he goes to his dads for a week. My son has informed me that he no longer wishes to have to go and stay with his dad. I have been looking online and I've see information stating that once a child has turned 15 in the state of NC he/she has the right to make his own decision about where he would like to stay. I would like to know if that statement is true or not and what I need to do to take action on this matter. If 15 is not the age is there a set age limit or what could I do in the meantime to try and have the decision reversed or other child custody options put in place? Thank You
1 Answer from Attorneys
Children have rights? Not in good 'ole boy North Carolina! Humor aside, the statement is not true. However, while it is not a set in stone rule that a 15 year old has the right to pick where they live, just plain common sense and logic dictate that at 15 most children have reached a maturity level where most judges will take the 15 year olds preference into serious consideration especially if the child has legitimate reasons other than something like 'yo man, like dad sucks and is to like restrictive or something and crap and mom's way cooler and chill and lets me do way more like stuff, ya know'. So if you want to change a custody order you will need to get dad to consent or a judge to order it. Best of luck to you.
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