You and your spouse are going through a divorce, and you know that you need to come up with a child custody plan moving forward. You have to decide where the child will live, which is known as physical custody. This is in addition to legal custody, or the decision-making ability that the parents have.
One concern you have, though, is that your child has expressed a preference when it comes to their own physical custody situation. Maybe they only want to live with you, or they only want to live with your ex. It seems clear to you that it will not just be you and your partner discussing how custody should be split up, but that your child may want to be involved. Do they have the legal ability to select their custody arrangement on their own?
They may have some input, depending on age and other factors
It is possible, in some cases, for a child to voice their preference. Age and maturity are large determining factors. If your child is a toddler, the court is not going to ask for their preference. If they are a high school senior, on the other hand, then the court may be very interested in where they would like to live.
That said, even if the court asks them for their preference, they are just being given a chance to have input on the decision. The court does not have to go along with it. In this sense, your child cannot unilaterally make the decision. If they say that they only want to live with your ex, but the court thinks it would be better for all involved to split custody time between both parents, that is how the court can still rule, even if your child objects.
This does mean that the child custody arrangement may become rather complicated, which is why it is so important to understand your legal options.