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age child can decide parent minnesota?

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s_mikkels

Guest
What is the name of your state?
Minnesota
Does anyone know in Minnesota, how old a child must be in order to choose which parent he would like to live with.
Does Minnesota have a age?
It seems that as a child gets older he or she should have some choices. 18 is too old.
 


VeronicaGia

Senior Member
So children should be able to decide whether or not to go to school, to take a shower, brush their teeth, or thousands of other things too, correct?

Why is it you think a child should decide this? What about children in intact marriages, should they decide that they don't want to live with their parents and move to a commune?

What is more important, a childs wants or the law?
 

usmcfamily

Senior Member
Minnesota laws assign custody based on the "best interests of the child", meaning all relevant factors to be considered and evaluated by the court including:

1. The wishes of the child's parent or parents as to custody;


2. The reasonable preference of the child as to custody, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient age to express preference;


3. The child's primary caretaker;


4. The intimacy of the relationship between each parent and the child;


5. The interaction and interrelationship of the child with a parent or parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interests;


6. The child's adjustment to home, school, and community;


7. The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity;


8. The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home;


9. The mental and physical health of all individuals involved; except that a disability of a proposed custodian or the child shall not be determinative of the custody of the child, unless the proposed custody arrangement is not in the best interest of the child;


10. The capacity and disposition of the parties to give the child love, affection, and guidance, and to continue educating and raising the child in the child's culture and religion or creed, if any;


11. The child's cultural background;


12. The effect on the child of the actions of an abuser, if related to domestic abuse that has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual, whether or not the individual alleged to have committed domestic abuse is or ever was a family or household member of the parent; and


13. The disposition of each parent to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact by the other parent with the child.

The court may not use one factor to the exclusion of all others in determining custody of a child. Minnesota laws do not allow the court to consider conduct of a proposed custodian that does not affect the custodian's relationship to the child.


In addition to the factors listed above, where either joint legal custody or joint physical custody is contemplated or sought, the court shall consider the following relevant factors:


1. The ability of parents to cooperate in the rearing of their children;


2. Methods for resolving disputes regarding any major decision concerning the life of the child, and the parents' willingness to use those methods;


3. Whether it would be detrimental to the child if one parent were to have sole authority over the child's upbringing; and


4. Whether domestic abuse has occurred between the parties.

While the child's opinion is listed as ONE factor to consider it is also specifically stated that no one factor shall be considered in exclusion of all others so even if the child is what the court considers mature enough to express their wishes the decision will not be made on their wishes alone......
If parents were forced to live their lives at the whim of teenagers (most states want a child to be at least 12 or showing maturity of at least 12 to consider their wishes - many states have higher limits) the world would be in chaos.....that is why the decision is not made on the child's wishes alone.
 
H

helpinminnesota

Guest
in the hundreds of pages of statutes for minnesota that i have read i believe the age is now 8. BUT like usmcfamily posted, all those other things are the most important and a good chunk of those need to be met- not just a couple of them. The child's wishes are going to be secondary. Also, even if the child is 8 or older, it very well depends on their maturity. A friend of mine (male) who fought and won custody of his son said the judge took his son back into his chambers and talked to him and asked him questions about whether or not he believed in santa claus (there was more to it than just that- but for a general idea) to see what kind of maturity level the child was at. so even if the child is "old enough" to decide you'd have to have a pretty solid case as to why the other parent is no longer fit.
 

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