What Effect Does the Child Opinion Have on Child Custody Litigation?

What effect does the child's opinion have on child custody litigation? Well, it is a reason for a given's motion as we talked about last time, that can be considered a material change in circumstance.

If a child voices an opinion that they want to live with the other parent, it could certainly be something that the court will consider.

It will typically result in an inquiry into the reasons why and the judge when they interview that child, is going to dig into those reasons.

And the attorneys representing the parties will try to dig into those reasons during discovery and possibly using other tools, depending on what's going on, such as the guardian ad litem or in an extreme case, a forensic interviewer to try to get at what is behind that child expressing that opinion.

And that's really what is going to ultimately influence the amount of persuasiveness that child's opinion might have. If for example, you're dealing with let's say a teenager and they just don't get along well with one parent.

That may be enough assuming that it's not because the child wants to do whatever the hell they want in there and the parent won't let them.

If you're talking about just personality clashes, for example, that may be enough. If they don't like the new stepparent, that could be enough, especially if there are really legitimate conflicts there. And it's not just a, "Well, you won't let me do what I want" kind of situation.

The effect of the child's statement that they want to live with the other parent is going to carry more weight as the child ages because as the child becomes more mature, the presumption that their opinion is a well-considered, rational opinion will grow.

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