Q: If kids are 13 and 15..do they have a choice where to go if mother dies and father becomes custodial parent?
Mother is dying of cancer (custodial) lives in Oklahoma with new bf and kids, father would become custodial parent, he's in AZ. Can the kids choose to stay with mom's boyfriend instead of moving back to AZ with dad? (No domestic violence, or drug abuse issuses)
A: The preference of the children could be considered by the court and the boyfriend could try to file a guardianship. To get a guardianship over a parent the court would have to find the parent unfit. Cases like this are fact dependant and really cant be fully addressed in this format. To get a reliable answer contact an attorney and discuss in detail all the fine points of the situation and then they can give you an opinion.
A: No. The children can express their desire of which parent they would like to live with in a divorce action. The natural father upon the mothers death automatically becomes the custodial parent and the children would go with him. The only way to defeat that would be by usually a family member filing paperwork for custody alleging the father is unfit which must be proven.
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