At what age can you choose your leagal gardian if something were to happen to your parents?:confused:

You should speak with your parents about your concerns and see what they think. Who do you want and who would they pick?

I don't know if there is a set age to "pick" but if you something were to happen, you'd go before a judgement to determine guardianship. If you're old enough to type this, you're old enough to tell a judge what you'd prefer. ;)

All depends where you live. I live in ny and the age is 13 or 14

all depends where you live. i live in ny and the age is 13 or 14

That is incorrect. A minor child (under 18) cannot make the decision. Their choice and preference will be listened to by the court, but the decision will be up to a judge and made on the judge's determination of the best interests of the child, not solely on the child's wishes.

Please make sure of your facts before giving inaccurate advice.


At what age can you choose your leagal gardian if something were to happen to your parents?:confused:
If you are concerned about this, your parents can make a will naming a guardian for you.

That is incorrect. A minor child (under 18) cannot make the decision.

Sorry scott but that is bull because a friend of mine did not want to live with her mother anymore and guess what her father is her legal gardian why because my friend went to a judge and told them she was sick of living with her mother and the judge switched it


GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT SCOTT :p

MissConfused. I am sorry but the name fits you perfectly as you ARE confused. Please read the original question again.

This is NOT about choosing what parent you want to live with in custody cases, but rather if the parents should die or become physically incapable of caring for a child.

In matters of custody the judge will weigh the wishes of the child but still decide what is in the child's best interests whether the child likes the decision or not.

In the case of death, the parents choose in a will who they want to take care of their child so that their child were taken care of properly. Dang, if you were right and my husband and I died tomorrow, my 5 year old would be living with Ronald McDonald.

If what you are saying is correct, and it's not by the way, in the matter of a death a child can choose to live with a drug addict for instance and it is okay in the court's eyes. Sorry, but wrong.

If what you are saying is fact, then if my husband and I die tomorrow my 5 year old would be living with Ronald McDonald.

Sorry scott but that is bull because a friend of mine did not want to live with her mother anymore and guess what her father is her legal gardian why because my friend went to a judge and told them she was sick of living with her mother and the judge switched it


GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT SCOTT :p

You certainly are confused and you obviously didn't read what I said because your response actually supports what I said. I said; "the decision will be up to a judge and made on the judge's determination of the best interests of the child". You said; "my friend went to a judge and told them she was sick of living with her mother and the judge switched it"

So who made the decision? The judge did! However, I doubt if your friend went to the judge, she probably got her father to petition the court. The judge then listened to her preference and decided it was in her best interests to change custody.

Not only do you need get your facts straight, but you need to understand the facts before you insert your foot even further into your mouth.

The bottom line is that no state allows a minor child to just decide whom they want to live with. A judge is the one that makes the decision. Different state laws do put more weight on the child's choice at various ages. Also, the request almost always has to come from the person seeking custody not the child.

However, this particular post is not about custody issues as far as divorce are concerned. This post is in case of death or injury.


if something were to happen to your parents?

Therefore, the child should discuss his/her choices with the parents in the event something does happen.

This is not about living with Mom OR Dad, this is about when and if Mom and Dad are BOTH gone.

Yes but you could still choose who you want to live with because if the child does not like who the judge places him/her with then the child may give a suggestion on whom he/she would like to live with and the kid will get their way if it is a safe environment

yes but you could still choose who you want to live with because if the child does not like who the judge places him/her with then the child may give a suggestion on whom he/she would like to live with and the kid will get their way if it is a safe environment

Not true. The Judge will listen but make his or her decision based on fact, not the desire of the child. If that were true, what you say, then my nephew would have gone to live with Hulk Hogan.

Did hulk hogan want him?

Miss Confused, it is apparent you do not know exactly how the laws work, and at your age you are not expected to.

A judge will not place a child where it is not healthy, no matter what the child says.

yes but you could still choose who you want to live with because if the child does not like who the judge places him/her with then the child may give a suggestion on whom he/she would like to live with and the kid will get their way if it is a safe environment

You don't want to listen do you? The child does NOT make the choice. The child can only express their preference. The choice is made by the judge. In many cases the judge will go along with the child's preference but that's not the point. You are saying the child gets to choose and that is not the way it is.

The question here was at what age can one choose their legal guardian. You replied that, in NY, its 13 or 14. That is an incorrect statement. A guardian is only necessary for a minor and a minor cannot make the choice on their own, they can only express a preference. The choice is made by a judge.

Some questions can be answered with opinion, but many questions have to be answered with facts and your facts are wrong in this case. Don't tell other people to check their facts when you haven't a clue about the facts yourself. You were wrong, now just admit it and move on.

Your annoying scott and I love how I didn't ask for your input nor yours j_9

And why are you so negative towards me?

We are negative towards the inaccurate legal advice you are giving. When posting in many of the boards opinion is all that is needed, however, when it comes to anything legal, medical, etc... you need to know the facts, and so far you have proven that you don't know the facts.

your annoying scott and i love how i didn't ask for your input nor yours j_9

This goes with the territory. Does the phrase if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen mean anything to you? If anyone posts anything on a site like this, they INVITE comment. That's what these sites arre about. You, in fact, DID ask for input by posting comments.

As to my being annoying, you probably wouldn't think so if you posted only accurate or good advice.


and why are you so negitive towards me?

We are not negative towards you, we are negative towards bad advice. The people who are regulars at this site take a degree of pride in the accuracy and quality of the advice that is given out. When we see poor advice we will point it out and counter it. I point out that you were the one who initially attacked me but yelling at me to get my facts straight, when, in fact, my facts were straight and yours were not.

Basically, that's what we are asking you to do, is get your facts straight before you post something. Or make sure you give advice that is good and helpful. If you do, you will have no problem with anyone here. If you do make a mistake, then acknowledge it and move on rather than argue a losing point.

Who are you to tell me my advise is bad.
Who are you to tell me that I "know nothing about the legal system"
Who are you to tell me I'm to young to understand it

To me your No one and until you show me respect your not going to be nothing
You're a rude middleaged man

who are you to tell me my advise is bad.
who are you to tell me that i "know nothing about the legal system"
who are you to tell me i'm to young to understand it

to me your NOONE and until you show me respect your not going to be nothing
your a rude middleaged man

And you have behaved like a rude, know-nothing teenager who thinks they know-it-all. Respect has to be EARNED and you have not earned it by your answers or your attitude.

In this case, I am someone who knows the correct law so it is my duty to correct your mistaken information. I didn't say you "know nothing about the legal system", but you clearly do not know the law in this case. I never said you were too young to understand, just that you clearly do not understand in this case.

So I again tell you to get your facts straight, because you clearly aren't posting facts. All you are doing is making yourself look more foolish and showing yourself to be an immature teen who refuses to try and learn. And that is NOT something worthy of respect.

who are you to tell me my advise is bad.
who are you to tell me that i "know nothing about the legal system"
who are you to tell me i'm to young to understand it

The previous poster can tell you that because your advice is inaccurate. Because its not correct, its apparently due to your age, which actually goes yet again to prove them to be correct. What you feel to be true is why a minor cannot determine a guardian of their choice; because minor children do not understand the legal system and the ramifications of their major life decisions.

A judge would hear his request, but he wouldn't legally be able to choose. Your friend was in a different situation and it's a coincidence that she was sent with the person she actually wanted... that just indicates that person was deemed capable by a judge.

From what I've heard (I could be wrong, I'm not saying this is fact so don't shoot at me;)), if both your parents die or are unable to take care of you for whatever reason, you will be left with the closest relative that can best support you, if there are none, you will most likely be given to a foster home.

From what I've heard (I could be wrong, I'm not saying this is fact so don't shoot at me;)), if both your parents die or are unable to take care of you for whatever reason, you will be left with the closest relative that can best support you, if there are none, you will most likely be given to a foster home.

BANG! ;)

Seriously, you are correct. Absent specific instructions in the parents will, the nearest relative that is willing to accept guardianship will get it. If there are multiple relatives willing to take the child in, the child's preferences will be listened to, but a judge will make the final determination based on the best interests of the child.