How Do Judges Decide on Child Custody?

Going through a divorce comes with a whole range of challenges, both emotional and logistical. As such, it requires significant effort and conscious attempts to maintain peace and achieve an acceptable resolution so that both individuals can move forward with their lives. However, one of the things that makes divorces and separations particularly tricky to navigate is the process of figuring out child custody.

Most divorces tend to be quite straightforward when there are no children involved. However, when a divorce involves children, the parents must agree on how to share custody of their child. The court will decide the next steps if they cannot do that amicably. Approaching experienced lawyers like those at The Florida Probate & Family Law Firm can offer immense assistance in such situations. Meanwhile, this article provides an overview of a judge’s process of deciding child custody for divorcing parents.

Custody Arrangements: Types

Before discussing how a child custody decision works, you need to understand the different types of custody arrangements available. Although they mean different things, they all have one goal: for your parenting plan to meet your family’s needs. With that said, the common types of child custody arrangements include:

• Sole legal custody and joint physical custody, which is rare.
• Sole legal and physical custody to any or both parents.
• Sole physical and joint legal custody.
• Joint legal and joint physical custody.

Child Custody: Who Makes the Decision?

Parents can collaborate and design a parenting plan for everyone, especially the children. If they succeed, the judge will adopt it into a court order, and everyone lives happily ever after. However, if parents cannot agree on their parenting arrangements, a judge will decide using significant evidence.

Nevertheless, whether the court or the parents decide, a judge’s decision has significant weight on child custody. Thus, even if parents can agree on a parenting plan, they still need a judge to sign off. Furthermore, parents can control what happens to their families after a divorce or separation when they work together.

The Custody Decision Process: How Do Judges Decide?

The rule governing child custody decision processes is that all decisions must be made in the child’s best interests. However, most states mandate judges to decide what would be in the child’s best interests by considering certain circumstances. While the factors for deciding differ in each state, the general factors that judges use in deciding child custody include:

• The child’s attachment to their community, school, and home;
• The child’s age, physical and mental health, and special needs, if any;
• The parent’s physical and mental health;
• History of each parent’s abuse of the other parent or the child;
• Each parent’s mental bond with the child and any siblings;
• Each parent’s ability and willingness to provide a stable environment and meet the child’s needs;
• Each parent’s readiness and willingness to encourage the child’s relationship with the co-parent.

The Age Factor

Depending on the child’s age, some of these factors may or may not come into play. For example, a judge will award physical custody of a young child to a parent who has been providing primary care. If the child is older, the best interests evaluation will favor the parent with better means of providing. Judges will consider which parent can offer continuity in education and foster peer relationships, neighborhood life, and religious life. Furthermore, judges may pay attention to what older children want in states that allow consideration of children’s preferences.

Child Custody Evaluation

A judge might order a child custody evaluation in exceptional and tough cases, such as where a parent is deemed unfit. Parents can request this evaluation even if the judge does not order it. Child custody evaluation helps give judges information and recommendations on deciding the case.

Conclusion

Having to figure out who gets to have custody of one’s child is one of the most challenging aspects of a divorce or separation. However, parents can better control the outcome if they decide themselves rather than have a judge decide. Having a lawyer at hand can make the process significantly easier to navigate while keeping the best interests of the child in mind.