united-states minor divorce iowa
How can I tell a judge that I want to live in the opposite house of the parent who has custody?
<p>My parents divorced when I was 5 years old. I am now 16 years old and every time I turn a year older I get told I have to be one year older than I currently am before I can tell the judge which parent I want to live with.</p>
<p>Thank you @bdb484 for the following question &quot;<em>Who is telling you this?&quot;</em> Just incase if anyone else is wondering that same question, it's both my mom and dad. And dad has custody but wants me to live with my mother and I don't want to live with her.</p>

<p>Iowa law that is relevant to custody is <a href="https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ico/chapter/598.pdf" rel="noreferrer">here</a>. At no point is a child prohibited from expressing his wishes to a judge. §598.41 prescribes how the court determine custody. Para 3(f) specifically includes</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Whether the custody arrangement is in accord with the child’s wishes
or whether the child has strong opposition, taking into consideration
the child’s age and maturity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This would have been the case at the initial custody hearing, and any petition to modify custody. There is no rule setting a lowest age for considering a child's wishes, but there may be a tendency to consider &quot;teenager&quot; as potentially old enough.</p>
<p>A custody arrangement can be modified, but the petitioning parent has to show that there has been a “substantial and material change in circumstances” since the initial decree.</p>
<p>But let's assume that the parents have joint custody, then none of that applies and you live where your parents agree you should live. You don;t have legal standing to petition for a change of custody, but you might (if there is a good enough reason) succeed on a petition for <a href="https://www.iowalegalaid.org/resource/emancipation-and-minor-guardianships-to-preve" rel="noreferrer">emancipation</a> when you are 16.</p>
