The age a child can decide which parent to live with under Texas law

Can a child choose which parent she wants to live with? It depends. Texas law sets 12 years old as the age a child can be interviewed by the judge for the judge to obtain the child’s desires on who he or she wants to live with. However, this age is not an automatic age a child can decide which parent to live with. As in many family law case types, Texas law gives the judge great discretion in determining what is in the child’s best interest. Turning 12 does not allow the child to decide if they will go live with mom or dad. Turning 12 allows the child to go speak to the judge to tell the judge their preference on which parent they should be allowed to live with. The court will make the final decision unless the parents come into a custody agreement.