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When making custody awards, courts may base their decisions, in part, on the child's preference rather than which parent wants custody. However, courts usually aren't required to consider a child's preference. The main standard in making a custody decision is what is in the child's best interests. The decision is based on what will be best for the child's overall well-being. There are several factors and issues that affect how much weight a court will give to a child's preference in a custody matter.

Factors in Considering the Child's Preference

There are key factors that courts use when considering a child's preference:

• The child's age and maturity level
• The reasons for the child's preference
• Hostility of the child toward either parent
• Preferences of other siblings

A court still considers the best interests of the child, even if it gives weight to the child's preference. In determining best interests, a judge may ask about the child's life in general, including school, friends, life with the current custodial parent and the child's feelings about the non-custodial parent.

Courts May Give Less Weight to the Child's Preference

These are key factors that courts use when giving less weight to a child's preference:

• Reluctance to change existing custody
• Desire to keep the child with siblings
• Suddenness of the child's preference for the preferred parent
• Age of the child and the obvious need for care and attention that only the current parent can provide

In certain situations, courts place less weight on a child's preference. Courts look at whether a parent has used undue influence. This means that a parent has improperly taken advantage of her position in her child's life to steer the child's opinion. Undue influence could include obvious actions, such as making threats or offering bribes. It also includes subtle actions, like making a child feel guilty. Less weight is given to a child's preference if there has been a change in usual routine, structure and rules, as when a child returns from a long, relaxed vacation with the non-custodial parent.

Courts also have to determine whether one parent has turned the child against the other parent by being hostile, toward the other parent and whether that is the reason that the child has expressed a preference.

A court could place less weight on the child's preference if factors such as a possible move could have influenced her opinion. She might state a preference based solely on wanting to stay at the same school and to keep her friends.