Considering child's best interests - where to reside

[fourplusfour]

My friend's DS (8) lives with a family member and has done for the last 4 years. Child's mother has supervised contact only (concerns around ability to parent), his father has weekly overnight visits. My friend (DF) now would like DS to live with him full time. Would it automatically be in the child's best interest to live with a parent over another family member? There are no concerns about the father. Would the length of time DS has lived with family member be a factor?

I think the Father would take precedence unless the child were old enough to have a reliable opinion.

There would have to be compelling reasons to move the child after four years. It's the child's best interests the court will take into consideration, not the father's.

Thanks for your input. @justanotherlawyer thats kind of what I was thinking. I feel for him as I think he was poorly advised at the time the order was made - although I get that I only hear one side.

A natural parent is always preferred to others, but the move needs to be in the child's best interests. Length of time with the family member is a factor, but there are many factors, and this will not be determinative one way or the other.