Am I allowed to move with my father even though my mother has custody over me?

Question Details:

I'm a 14-year-oldy girl and I have been living with my mother most of my life. However, over these few years we haven't been getting along very well. I am very unhappy living with her and I'm really stressed out because of school and how things are going at home. I have tried talking to her but she won't listen to me. She just thinks I'm spoiled and won't hear me out.

Asked 10/7/2009 under Divorce, Marriage, Alimony | 144 View(s) | More Legal Topics

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Divorce, Marriage, Alimony Law Answers

First of all, if your father agrees with your moving in with him, you will then need to make application to the court for a modification of the exisitng child custody order. 

Typically, a minor child cannot choose which parent they want to live with.  The court will look to many factors - home environment, income and education of the parents, the child's relationship with each parent, reason for wanting the change, etc. 

However, while a child cannot outright choose where they want to live, if they over the age of 12, a child's preference is given consideration and is one of the factors that the court considers (the older the child, the more weight it is given).

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