Can a Child Choose Which Parent to Live With in Saskatchewan

There Is No Magic Age

The most persistent myth in Saskatchewan family law is that a child can choose which parent to live with once they turn 12. This isn't true. No Saskatchewan statute sets a specific age at which a child's preference becomes binding. Children do not have the legal right to choose their primary residence until they reach the age of majority at 18.

What actually happens is more nuanced: a child's views and preferences are one factor among many that the court considers under the best-interests analysis. How much weight those views carry depends on the child's age, maturity, and the circumstances behind their preference.

How the Court Weighs a Child's Views

Under Section 10 of The Children's Law Act, 2020, the court must consider the child's views and preferences as part of the best-interests-of-the-child standard. The weight given to those views scales with the child's developmental stage:

Younger children: The Act does not assign a fixed age or automatic weight to a child's views. The court assesses any views in light of the child's age, maturity, developmental stage, and the circumstances behind the preference.

School-age children: A child's views may be considered, but the court assesses whether the preference is genuinely the child's own and how it relates to the child's best interests. A preference is not a decision the child makes for the court.

Adolescents: Older age and maturity may give a teenager's views more weight, but a preference remains one factor and is not determinative. It does not override the court's assessment of safety, stability, and the other best-interests factors.

The Voices of the Child Report

Saskatchewan offers a formal mechanism for capturing a child's perspective called the Voices of the Child Report (VCR). It is typically used for children aged 12 and older, though younger children may participate in some circumstances.

Here's how it works:

1. Interview: A qualified social worker meets with the child to capture the child's views and preferences
2. Report: The social worker prepares a written report for use in the court proceeding
3. Confidentiality limits: The child should understand that the VCR is not guaranteed to be confidential from the parents or the judge. What they say may be shared in the proceeding

The VCR is a court-admissible document. But it's one piece of evidence, not a binding vote.

Why a Child's Preference Alone Isn't Enough

Courts in Saskatchewan have consistently held that a child's stated preference, even a strong one from a mature teenager, must be evaluated against the full range of best-interests factors:

• Stability and continuity: Is the child's preference driven by a genuine assessment of their needs, or by a desire to escape structure?
• Parental influence: Has one parent directly or indirectly encouraged the child to express a particular preference?
• Relationship quality: The child's relationship with both parents, siblings, and extended family members all factor in
• Safety: If there are concerns about family violence, substance use, or neglect, the court will assess those concerns directly rather than treating a child's preference as conclusive

In R.R. v. MK, 2022 SKQB 33, the Court of King's Bench treated financial control and psychological abuse as relevant family violence and found joint decision-making inappropriate in a severe power imbalance.

What Parents Should Know

If your child has expressed a strong preference about where they want to live, take it seriously but understand the legal landscape. You cannot simply tell the court "my child wants to live with me" and expect that to settle the matter.

Instead, the preference becomes one data point in a detailed analysis that includes your parenting history, the stability of each home, each parent's willingness to foster the child's relationship with the other parent, and — if applicable — any history of family violence.

The Saskatchewan Child Custody and Parenting Plan Guide helps you build a parenting plan that accounts for your child's developmental stage and evolving needs, including how to structure age-appropriate schedules that naturally give older children more flexibility while maintaining the court-ordered framework.

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