What is a Child's Right to Choose Where to Live

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: TX

So at the time 5 years ago I sent my 2 boys to live with my parent as me and my wife were fighting a lot and about to get a divorce. My X wife ended up making some false claims against me and got a BS felony charge on me,(to take everything I owned knowing divorce was close), so I left town and moved in with my parent whom had the kids for aprox a month before I moved in. My oldest son is not legally mine but has been my son since he was a year old,(his father is a rapist). After living with my parent a few months and my dad being friends with this lawyer, who is now the county prosecutor they filed for joint custody with primary conservatorship, and I did not fight it as they convinced me that it was the only way to prevent my X wife from being able to come down and take both my sons whenever she wanted. I did not even go to court as they had me go sign something at the lawyers office and the lawyer convinced me this was the only way to stop my X.

My parents convinced me that they would be able to give/let me have my kids permanently, and that way my X would not have the right to fight me instead only them in court, after the judge finalized it. Henceforth yeah I was deceived and went along. Turns out I can not even trust my own parents as it has been almost five years and yes I see my kids almost every weekend but my parent never even attempted to let me have them back, on account that they have them in Christian private school and that my oldest was failing public school with me, and simply cannot go to pulic school,(per my parents), and only they have the funds to afford private school.

Now it has been five years and my oldest turns 17 this november and guess what is doing even worse in this strict crazy private christian school. He is like me an open minded thinker and does not agree with religion being shoved down his throat and is picked on because of it, so as of last week he was expulled the rest of the year and they expect him to do all his work at home. Problem is my dad is a preacher in town and my mom a travelling salesman so no one is round to make him do anything. He literally does what he wants their and wants to leave them and move in with me even knowing I am in some ways stricter on behavior.

True I do not have much money but I never let my kid do what he wants and while living with my parents he has been able to access porn, steal, and become very aggressive and depressed. While at my house he is respectfull and helps clean without being asked, so I bought him a mower and teach him to work on small engines and he mows yards for cash, and he just wants to get a job and be an adult, but like me as a teen my parents wont let him work as punishment.

What rights does he have for emancipation as he is being set up for failure through my parents but I do not have the money to sue for custody, how can he emancipate himself so he can live with me and start his adult life, he is a hard worker and just tired of being treated like crap because he does not agree with their religous zealot bullcrap, and how everyone treats him for telling them he does not agree and will make his own decisions. I literally walked in on one of his teaches all up in his face screaming that he is never going to amount to anything and going to end up in jail if he does not do his work and get right with God etc. I do believe in God and he does to but we do not agree with it being forced on us or else, what can he do or how can I help.

Also I never tried to take my youngest son back because I could not bear to seperate them and only my youngest is my blood, but if my oldest leaves the younger has expressed to me, to please not leave him with my parents they are crazy and he wants to move with me and stay close to his brother. Please I am lost and do not know what to do,

I have in the past year talked with their mom, my X, again and she only saw them once or twice a year for the past 4 years, she said, due to my parents ignoring her calls and her living far away, but me and my new wife are willing to work with her to regain custody as my youngest is only 13 if we must so that he can be spared the pain my oldest has been through. What do I do, I have a nice house on the lake that I rent and I do work a lot and my yougest would have to ride the bus to public school, but as he is a sports super star he wants that, private school does not offer the programs he wants to play in. Any advice where do I begin at least with the oldest and how will this effect what happens with my youngest.

My parents have conviced everyone in town that they are some super people taking care of their grand kids but the truth is they are self rightous and ignorant to reality, they also use my kids as their personal servants like they did me when I was young but I do not think anyone in our small town would ever believe anything I or my kids would say.

What you do is consult an attorney. If your parents have guardianship, it can be undone but only through the courts.

Quote:

---

Quoting Psalmopeus

---

My oldest son is not legally mine but has been my son since he was a year old,(his father is a rapist).

---

You do not have a legal claim to the oldest child. You are not the child's legal parent.

Quote:

---

Quoting Mercy&Grace

---

You do not have a legal claim to the oldest child. You are not the child's legal parent.

---

Somehow his parents got primary custody/conservatorship of the child even though he was not biologically related to them either. It amazes me the things that happen in small towns sometimes.

OP, I would think that if both you and the mother of the children banded together, and the children signed affidavits of preference (allowed in TX) then you would have a shot at getting them out of your parent's custody.

To answer the subject heading question, a child does not have a 'right' to choose where he lives until he is 18. His parents can make the decision to allow him to choose if that is what they want to do and they both agree, but until the child is 18 such a choice is not binding on the courts.

There seems to be a strongly held belief that at some arbitrary age (I've heard from 12 to 15) that a kid gets to decide where they want to live. The courts always have to do what's in the best interest of the child, not whatever a child wants. It's also largely known that children can be manipulated by one parent into choosing them, which would be counterproductive. The courts have to do what's best for the child. My children were not even allowed to say that they didn't want to visit their father. The court told them they didn't have a right to refuse visits, but rather, I had to file for a hearing to revoke his visitation based on the situation. He did lose his visitation, but only because there was a formal hearing and proof of abuse, not because they chose it. If the courts allowed children to make these decisions, a child could choose to live with Dad when Mom grounded them or live with Mom when Dad gave them a curfew.

Quote:

---

Quoting PMMH

---

There seems to be a strongly held belief that at some arbitrary age (I've heard from 12 to 15) that a kid gets to decide where they want to live. The courts always have to do what's in the best interest of the child, not whatever a child wants. It's also largely known that children can be manipulated by one parent into choosing them, which would be counterproductive. The courts have to do what's best for the child. My children were not even allowed to say that they didn't want to visit their father. The court told them they didn't have a right to refuse visits, but rather, I had to file for a hearing to revoke his visitation based on the situation. He did lose his visitation, but only because there was a formal hearing and proof of abuse, not because they chose it. If the courts allowed children to make these decisions, a child could choose to live with Dad when Mom grounded them or live with Mom when Dad gave them a curfew.

---

That makes perfect sense but it mostly unrelated to the particular case at hand.