foster and adoption - your questions answered

Who Will Get Custody of Your Child?

When parent divorce, it's always best if they can get along with each other well enough to come together for the sake of their children and make some important decisions for their welfare. Children don't ask to suffer from the effects of your adult decisions, and everything possible should be done to protect them.

When you and your spouse are at odds over who is the best custodial parent for your child, you may find that the family court judge is left making this decision. Read on to learn more about what to expect when your child custody decision is in dispute.

Parental Behavior

In many instances, one parent is clearly the best custodian of the minor child. Problems with substance abuse, child abuse, criminal activity and more may make the choice fairly easy for the judge. Many times, however, both parents are law-abiding and earnest parents who both love and care for the child and have a healthy relationship with the child. Often, when parents go to war with each other over custody, they allow this emotion-laden issue to cloud their behavior, and sometimes this is not to their favor when it comes to custody.

With both parents being fit to parent equally, it may come down to choosing the parent who is most willing to allow the child to spend time with other parent and who is respectful of the child's relationship with the the other parent. A parent who appears to be manipulative, who resorts to name-calling and other immature and negative behavior, may find themselves on the wrong end of the custody road.

The Child's Preference

If both parents appear to be fit and the child is old enough, some judges take the opinion of the minor child into consideration when litigating custody. Particularly for tweens and teens, care must be take not to allow the child to choose the more lenient parent, if that seems to be the sole motivation for the choice.

Who Gets the Home?

While it may seem unfair to penalize the parent who gives up the family home, judges may place more weight on the parent who can promise the child's living situation is disrupted as little as possible. It should be noted that fairness in making custody decisions is irrelevant; the best of the child is the overriding priority of the family courts.

To learn more about child custody and how it's decided, speak to a divorce attorney such as Tise Allan Brandon.


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