Age Requirements
At what age can a child choose custody and visitation in the state of Oklahoma? I’m Tulsa Attorney, James Wirth and that’s the question that we have, and it’s a bit of a trick question because ultimately, children cannot choose, as minors, they cannot choose who’s going to have custody and visitation over them.
There’s no set age where they can do so, other than 18, where they control their own lives. However, some statutes have certain ages to them. In general, you know, custody fight between parents, the statute has an age of 12 listed as where there is a presumption that they can make an intelligence preference that the court then is required to hear and factor into its decision making, but the court does not have to go along with it.
Age and Custody Determination
There’s something similar for guardianship cases, but interestingly, the age there is not 12, the age there is 14, and it’s slightly different. But at what age can a child choose custody and visitation? Well, I guess that would be 18 since they’re an adult, but if we’re talking about evidence and they are allowed to testify and give a preference, then there’s a presumption that they can do that at 12, but it depends on the intellectual advancement of that child in their age.
So most of the time, it’s gonna be 12, but sometimes some kids are developed intellectually earlier than that, sometimes there are kids a little bit older that aren’t quite as developed intellectually, so it doesn’t have to be 12, but 12 is where the presumption is that can be rebutted under different circumstances.
Consultation with an Attorney
So hopefully that answers the question there regarding the age at which a child can choose who will be the custodian. If you’ve got questions related to family law in the state of Oklahoma, though, you’re probably gonna want more than just a video. You’re gonna want to talk to an attorney to get legal advice specific to your circumstances. To get that scheduled with an attorney at my office, you can go online to makelaweasy.com.
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