Child Custody
Child custody is legal term which sometimes used to describe the legal
relationship between a parent and the child, such as the right and duty to take
care of a minor child on a daily basis, and decision making about the child.
There are two forms of child custody: One is sole custody and the other is joint
custody. In sold custody arrangements, one of the parents will take care of the
child most of the time and has major decision power about the child. In joint
custody arrangement, both parents will share decision making process, and they
will spend majority of time together with the child.
How do courts
decide custody?
Typically issues such as residence and contact will
arise in divorce proceedings, annulment and other legal proceedings in which the
child are involved. In most jurisdictions, the court decides custody based on
the best interest of the child when the parents cannot come to an agreement on
their child's custody issue.
Determining the best interest of the child
involves consideration of many factors, including the health and sex of the
child, the primary caregiver prior to the divorce, parenting skills and
willingness to care for the child, the emotional ties between child and parent,
willingness to facilitate visitation by the other parent, and each parent's
moral fitness.
There are few factors that are considered when determining
the best interest of the child:
- Health and sex of the child
- Who
was the primary caregiver prior to the divorce
- Parenting skills and
willingness to take care of the child
- The emotional ties between parent and
the child
- Willingness to facilitate visitation by the other parent
-
Parent's moral fitness.
In some states, courts use the term parenting
schedule rather than custody or visitation because it will eliminate the
distinction between custodial and non-custodial parents and thus the needs of
children's development schedule. Younger children will need shorter but more
frequent time with parents. Older ones need longer block of time with each
parent instead.
To the contrary of many people's assumption, mothers will
not automatically receive custody. In almost all states, both mothers and
fathers have an equal right to the custody. It is not automatically assumed by
courts that a child will be better off with one of parents.
Judges are
supposed to be fair and unbiased in their decisions on dealing with child
custody case. If any, bias on the part of individual judges can be avoided if
the parents can decide between themselves what the custody or parenting
arrangements should be.
Both sides of the parents have an equal burden of
proving that his or her custody would be the best interest of the child. Some
states have laws that give mother the preference of child custody, but even in
those states many fathers have been successful in obtaining custody in the past.
There are cases where the court make a formal decision of Legal Guardianship
in which a judge orders to suspend parents' custody of their child and gives
custody right to a non-parent.
If you plan to prepare your own child
custody form, ensure that you have right legal forms signed by you and seek an
advice from the lawyer for any unclear issue. You can find these legal documents
at your local stationery or go online and search for Free Legal Forms and there are many
choices out there with download options. Besides child custody forms, there are
other legal forms related to divorce and dissolution of marriage such as
Ratification of Marriage, Authorization to School and Power of Attorney by
Husband and Wife. Such Free Divorce Forms
are very helpful to you, as it is always recommended to be prepared in advance
when you feel that you would be in a situation of needing legal documents in the
future.