Skip to Content
Diggs & Sadler Diggs & Sadler
Schedule a Consultation 713-766-5355
Top

In a Texas case, can a child decide which parent to live with?

The short answer to that is no, kids cannot decide. Ultimately, it's based on what is in the children's best interest. And it used to be historically that the kids, through their the parents attorneys, could file a preference or a designation with the court that kids were twelve and older. They would sign this.

They would say, I know it's in my best interest and it's in my best interest for example, to reside with dad. They did away with those a couple of years ago. Now the code references kids that are twelve and older. Being able to ask the court to have them interviewed in the judge's Chambers. The section on that is poorly worded and it's very short and doesn't address many of the particulars on it. I think some of the judges are very uncomfortable with that as well. So ultimately, regardless of age, kids cannot ultimately determine that it's based on what's in their best interest.