Welcome to this comprehensive video guide on child visitation rights in California, featuring seasoned family law attorney Sina Mohajer. This video addresses crucial questions like “Can a child refuse visitation with a parent?” and “What age can a child refuse visitation in California?” that have been the cause of concern for many parents navigating the intricacies of child custody and visitation arrangements.

Family laws can be difficult to interpret. Therefore, if you seek competent legal advice regarding California family law matters, we are here to help. Fill out our online contact form or call us at (626) 569-5200 to schedule an initial consultation with one of our qualified family law attorneys.

Transcript:
If you have a custody order and you find yourself in a situation where your child is just not wanting to participate in that visitation schedule, well, this isn’t the first time this has happened. In fact, this type of occurrence happens more frequently than you think.

But in this video, we’re going to cover a few topics. One is whether a child can refuse to participate in a court ordered visitation. Two is at what point does the court take into consideration that child’s preference? And then lastly, what happens if your child outright refuses to go on that court ordered visitation?

Hi, I’m Sina Mohajer. I’m a family law attorney practicing in the Greater Los Angeles County since 2012. I’ve been a contributing member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and I’ve been rated by Super Lawyers since 2019.

Can a Child Refuse Court-Ordered Visitation?

The first question is, can your child refuse to go on that visitation? Well, your child can do whatever that child wants to do, he’s a kid or she’s a kid. The important thing to realize is whenever you have a custody order, the obligation does not fall on the child, but instead it falls on the parents.

So if your child ends up not going on that visitation, the court’s not going to get upset at that kid, the court’s going to get upset at you for failing to follow a court order. So the question of whether a child can refuse to go on a visitation? Absolutely, there’s no stopping them. But the important part is to figure out what you should do to make sure that you don’t get any consequences by the court.

Age Considerations in Child’s Visitation Refusal

Now, at what age does a court consider the child’s preference. Well, the family code is very particular. At the age of 14, the court must consider the child’s preference when making a determination of what the custody arrangement needs to be. But that doesn’t mean just because they have to take their preference into consideration, that they’re going to actually listen to the child.

But 14 is the golden age. Anything under 14, the court has discretion. They may listen to their preference or they may not. But at the end of the day the court’s one duty is to figure out what is in the best interest of that child and make orders that reflect that.

Dealing with a Child’s Refusal for Visitation

Now, what happens if your child outright refuses to go on that visitation? Well, certainly, as your child gets older, your kid’s going to have more and more opinions and feelings about the schedule that they were exercising from however long ago. And you can definitely not tie up your child and deliver them like an Amazon package to the other parent just because you’re court ordered to do that.

Encouraging Your Child to Follow the Visitation Order

Instead, it’s very important that you talk to your child and assure them and support them, the fact of how important it is to visit with the other parent and to follow this court order. And if that doesn’t work, perhaps you might want to reach out to the other custodial parent and ask them to kind of intervene and talk to the child and figure out what are the reasons or basis that they’re not wanting to go on that visitation.

At the end of the day, if your child refuses, you can’t force them. All you can do is continue to nurture that relationship, encouraging them and give positive feedback. So that way, they choose to go on that visitation.

Legal Consequences of Child Refusing Visitation

But if you find yourself back in court, it’s important that you set up your chips accordingly so the court doesn’t blame you for the fact that your child does not want to go on that visit. And they don’t blame you, that you’re perhaps alienating the other parent.

Legal Advice for Child Visitation Issues

Now, if you find yourself in a similar situation and you’d like to talk to a seasoned family law attorney, I welcome you to contact our office. I’ll be happy to schedule you an initial consultation.