Beginning Sept. 1, 2009, children will no longer be able to sign a statement designating their preference of which party they wish to primarily live with after their parents divorce.  They will have to talk to the Judge in chambers.   The "statement of preference" has been eliminated from the Texas Family Code.   Only children over the age of 12 years were permitted to sign this preference, and this age factor is continued in the new legislation.  As always, the child's wishes are not binding on the Court,  and is just one thing considered in determining what is in the best interest of the child in divorce and modification actions.