In custody cases courts as a general standard refer to as the best interests of the child as a significant factor as to which parent should be the residential custodial parent of the child. Courts look into the existing relationship the child has with the parents and which parent has the child been living with. If the child has been living with both parents and they are now separating, an important factor is whether one parent has been the primary caretaker of the child, responsible for day to day child caring responsibilities and meeting the child’s needs.
Living Arrangements Regarding The Child
Courts can look into the quality, size and maintenance of the residence each parent maintains regarding custody issues. This may not be a significant factor, but it can be a factor in the Judge’s determination of who shall be the residential custodial parent.
Physical and Mental Health of the Parent
The parent who seeks to be the custodial parent should have good medical and physical health. Issues such as mental problems, suicide attempts or a severe disability may make it impractical for one parent to be the appropriate individual to provide the necessary child care for the child.
Child Preference As To Who He Or She Would Like To Live With
Judges can take into consideration whether the child wants to live with one parent or the other. The more advanced age of the child can be a factor. A 5 year old who wants to live with mommy or daddy will not have as great an impact on the Judge as a 16 or 17 year old who wants to live with one parent. If a child is represented by an attorney and there are good reasons why the child wants to live with one parent and not the other, this can be taken into consideration by the court. The ability of the custodial parent to cooperate and maintain the relationship with the other parent is taken into consideration by Judges. The custodial parent must be willing to help foster and maintain the good relationship between the child and the other parent. This is referred to as co-parenting. A parent who does not want to cooperate with the other parent may be a poor choice for a Judge to give that parent custody.
Domestic Violence in the Household
A parent who has been involved in the abuse of either the child or the other parent may not be considered by the court as the appropriate parent to have custody of the child.
Child custody cases can be expensive, time consuming, aggravating and can impact on each of the parent’s employment situation. Out of court settlements of child custody situations are often a better way to deal with this issue.
The law firm of Schlissel DeCorpo LLP has been representing clients for more than 40 years in divorce cases. We can be reached at 718-350-2802, 516-561-6645 or 631-319-8262 or by e-mail at INFO@sdnylaw.com.
