Courts are often required to determine where children will live when parents separate or divorce. Child custody laws help to guide judges when making these crucial decisions. Determining which parent gets custody can affect child support and other financial obligations. Family law attorneys with child custody experience can help clients negotiate a parenting arrangement or at court proceedings.
Types of Child Custody
There typically are two types of child custody: legal custody and physical custody.
Legal custody refers to the legal ability of the parent or parents to make important decisions on behalf of their children, such as choices regarding to their education, religion, extracurricular activities and health care. Unless one parent has been found to be abusive or otherwise unfit, courts will often award this right to both parents. This is called joint legal custody.
Physical custody refers to where the children reside and how much time they spend with each parent. This is more often the cause of a custody dispute. When one parent is awarded sole physical custody, this means that the child resides with that parent and spends most of the time with that parent. Joint physical custody is another route, in which both parents have an allotted (but not necessarily equal) amount of time with the children.
Many states allow parents to come up with a parenting arrangement on their own. If the parents agree on such a plan, the court can issue an order approving this agreement. If parents can't agree on child custody, the court may hear arguments from the parents and lawyers to determine the amount of time each parent should have with the child.
Child Custody Evaluations
Many family law courts will order a child custody evaluation to be conducted by an objective third party appointed by the court. As part of the evaluation, this person usually interviews each parent with and without the children. If other people are residing in the home, they may also be interviewed. The evaluator may also interview other individuals who have ongoing contact with the child, such as extended family, teachers, counselors, and doctors.
The child custody evaluator may also ask for additional information and documents. All of this work is completed in order for the evaluator to make an independent decision regarding what is in the best interests of the child. The judge may give great weight to the opinion of the child custody evaluator, so many individuals who go through this process choose to retain the services of a child custody lawyer. Attorneys can provide advice on what to discuss during the evaluation process and what information to make available to the evaluator.
How to Get Custody of Your Child
If the court has to determine child custody, it will in most cases apply the standard of the "best interests of the child." This standard assesses both parents and the child in order to determine if there are factors that would make it preferable for a child to spend more time with one parent over the other.
A court may evaluate the child's age, gender, current living situation and child care arrangements. It may also evaluate the age, health, lifestyle, and stability of each parent. The court might consider the parent's work schedule and ability to provide for the child's basic necessities. It might also consider the relationship between the child and each parent. Some states will allow courts to consider the expressed preferences of children who have reached a specified age.
Normally, one particular factor is not enough to come to a decision. However, the judge may give more weight to one factor over others, depending on circumstances or the child's age.
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