Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

There is no age. It depends on the maturity of the child. I assume you are speaking of a custody action. The older the child is the more inclined the judge will listen to the child's preference. However, it depends on the child's rationale for choosing one parent. For example, a child who says "I want to live with daddy because he lets me do whatever I want" is not going to be real persuasive. But a child who says "I want to live with daddy becausee he encourages me to do extracurricular activities or school activities" will be more persuasive. A child's preference is just one factor for the court to consider.

Here is an exercpt from one case: "The weight to be accorded a child�s preference varies with the age, maturity and intelligence of that child, together with the reasons given for the preference. Moreover, as children grow older, more weight must be given to the preference of the child."