Abstract:
The decision-making capacity of the minor child as to the place and person of primary residence is often placed into dispute. In recent years minor children have started to make known their wishes as to their preferred custodians. This rests on the concept that children have a right to choose with which parent they want to reside. Many lawyers and judges have serious questions about the child’s ability to act decisively. Currently there are no standards for the assessment of the minor
child’s decision-making capacity. It is therefore the aim of this article to propose such standards and criteria according to which the minor child’s decision-making capacity can be validated in a way that is reliable, valid, fair, and non-discriminatory in nature, and which might lead to improvement of best practice.
