Teenage Sons and Court

I have been divorced since 1998. My two sons have lived with me and are now 14 and 15 years old. Mother has averaged less than 100 nights of visitation over the years and lives 4 hours away.

After two more husbands and numerous live in boyfriends, the ex now has realized her sons have grown up without her. I won’t go into all the he-said/she-said details.

The bottom line is she had driven her sons away from her and they have many issues with her. Instead of going to the scheduled counseling sessions with her sons, she had decided to place all the blame on me.

She is taking me to court to take primary and legal custody. I am confident I will win. My question is will the judge allow my two sons to speak to her(judge) or in court regarding this case. They both want to testify that they want to remain with me and explain all their frustrations with trying to get their mother to listen to them?

How much weight will the judge give to their wishes at that age?

Thanks

Your children’s ages make it very likely that a judge will hear from them, likely in chambers without you, your ex or your attorneys. The judge will decide how much weight to give to the children’s testimony as he or she deems is appropriate and will consider all other relevant factors as well.