When does a child reach an age to have certain rights? When can a child be “emancipated” and make decisions for him/herself. Some people say 12 or 13 and some say 16.

Neither is correct.

The truth is that there is no magical age for a minor to make decisions for him or herself. When people talk about that magical age, they imagine a golden age in which a minor is suddenly enough of an adult that he/she can tell a court, “I want to live with Mom” or “I want to live with Dad” and the court will make it so, but Ohio does not have such a rule.

There is no magical age until age 18, when the minor becomes an adult. Until age 18, the minor is bound by any court-issued agreement concerning him/her , and so are his/her parents. If Mom has custody of the kid, the kid does not get to demand of the court, “I don’t want to live with her anymore” just because he’s turned 13 or 15 or 16. It will take more than just this idea of a magical age to change a custody determination.

When a minor reaches age 18, he/she is no longer considered a minor. At that point, he/she can make his/her own decisions and live where he/she chooses—but not before then.

By: Alexandra E. Winters, Attorney at Law