If your parents separate, can you decide which parent you want to live with?

Children don't generally get to choose which parent they live with if their parents separate or divorce. Your parents may agree on which one of them you'll live with when they separate, but they may decide not to talk to anyone else, including you, when they make this decision. If your parents make a decision like this that you're not happy with, you can talk to them about it, but the decision is still theirs to make.

If your parents can't agree about where you should live after they separate, a court may have to decide this for them. The Family Relations Act (which covers family law in BC) says that the court must consider children's "best interests" when making this decision. This means that the court must consider all of the following factors:

• the health and emotional well being of the child, including any special needs for care and treatment;
• if appropriate, the views of the child;
• the love, affection, and similar ties that exist between the child and other people;
• education and training for the child; and
• the ability of each person to whom custody, access, or guardianship rights and duties might be granted, to exercise those rights and duties adequately.

While your views are important, they're only one of several important considerations. Your age and maturity are important factors when a court is considering your custody (that is, the older you are, the more weight will be given to your opinions about where you want to live).

If you have more questions, you may want to look at the Justice Education Society's Families Change website, which contains guides about separation and divorce for children and teenagers.