My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Wisconsin
I am not one of the parents, I am a friend of the mother. Currently, the mother is the primary parent (2:1) custody for the child's entire life and the child is 13. The father is filing for modification of custody, because the child wishes to live with him as primary. There are no abuse or neglect issues, the child's reason is because he is a teen boy that wants to do "boy stuff" with his dad, his dad spends more money on him and isn't as strict. The father appears to be under the impression that a 13+ year old child is able to choose where he wants to live, and the court would need to find a compelling reason not to allow it, and has been telling that to the child. I have tried to research it myself, and I did find 1 family law website that indicated that was true, but others indicate that it is just one factor, and downplay it's significance. We have also talked to friends and professionals that seem to give mixed cues based on their own experiences with their personal court proceedings, or knowledge of cases of their clients in the case of social workers and counselors. The mother's lawyer also told her that the guardian ad litem in the area is infamous for siding with the child's verbalized requests, ignoring most other factors.
So my question is, in WI is it the case where a teenager gets to essentially pick where they live, and there needs to be some serious issues with the choice for the court to even consider disagreeing? And if it's not a deal-sealer, how much weight is the wishes of the child given? Is a biased guardian ad litem anything to be worried about?
Also, a friend told the mother that if the child absolutely refused to come home when he had to, he could just stay at the other house and that there was nothing the mother could do. She was told that the police wouldn't intervene to enforce the court order, and that there weren't any options with the court to compel compliance. How would it be handled if the child refused to return to the mother, and if the dad declined to force the child to go?
I am not one of the parents, I am a friend of the mother. Currently, the mother is the primary parent (2:1) custody for the child's entire life and the child is 13. The father is filing for modification of custody, because the child wishes to live with him as primary. There are no abuse or neglect issues, the child's reason is because he is a teen boy that wants to do "boy stuff" with his dad, his dad spends more money on him and isn't as strict. The father appears to be under the impression that a 13+ year old child is able to choose where he wants to live, and the court would need to find a compelling reason not to allow it, and has been telling that to the child. I have tried to research it myself, and I did find 1 family law website that indicated that was true, but others indicate that it is just one factor, and downplay it's significance. We have also talked to friends and professionals that seem to give mixed cues based on their own experiences with their personal court proceedings, or knowledge of cases of their clients in the case of social workers and counselors. The mother's lawyer also told her that the guardian ad litem in the area is infamous for siding with the child's verbalized requests, ignoring most other factors.
So my question is, in WI is it the case where a teenager gets to essentially pick where they live, and there needs to be some serious issues with the choice for the court to even consider disagreeing? And if it's not a deal-sealer, how much weight is the wishes of the child given? Is a biased guardian ad litem anything to be worried about?
Also, a friend told the mother that if the child absolutely refused to come home when he had to, he could just stay at the other house and that there was nothing the mother could do. She was told that the police wouldn't intervene to enforce the court order, and that there weren't any options with the court to compel compliance. How would it be handled if the child refused to return to the mother, and if the dad declined to force the child to go?
Modification of Custody: How Much Weight is the Child's Wishes Given in Custody Modification Proceedings
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