Cincinnati Family Law & Divorce Blog: When Can The Child Decide?

When discussing issues of custody and parenting time, a very common question is “at what age does my child get to decide where he or she lives” or alternatively, “when can my child decide when he or she wants to see the other parent.”  There is a common misconception that at a certain age, whether it is 12 or 16, that a child will have the right to determine which parent has custody or what his or her  parenting time with each parent will be.   However, that is not the case in Ohio. Rather, under Ohio law, both custody and parenting time, is determined by the Court after considering a wide range of  relevant factors which help the Court to ascertain what is in the child’s best interest. (O.R.C. 3109.04 and 3109.051) Some of these factors include the wishes of the child’s parents, the child’s interactions and interrelationship with his or...