It’s often been said that a person’s life changes when he or she becomes a parent. That the child or children immediately become the center of that individual’s life. Although experience has taught me that isn’t always the case, I think it can be said that for most parents, that statement couldn’t be more accurate. That dynamic coupled with the very human reality that many relationships don’t last creates the need to decide what to do with the children when two parents can no longer live together. With that, I want to go over the factors a court is going to consider when deciding who the child should be with. Keep in mind, there are about as many permutations with regards to what a custody schedule can look like as there are different disputes. But, the below factors give a starting point. They highlight what will be important to a court. They, in the end, set out what the court is going to consider when deciding what is in the best interest of the child.
Child Custody Lawyers Erie PA
Child custody disputes, even when they go relatively smoothly, can be difficult and emotional. It should therefore come as little surprise that the truly ugly disputes can be life-altering. Given that dynamic, it is imperative the attorney at your side has both the hard skills to advocate for you in a courtroom setting and the soft skills required to honestly and compassionately navigate through the difficult conversations you will certainly be forced to have throughout the child custody process. In essence, I believe it is important that you mesh with your child custoday lawyer on both a personal and professional level. As someone who has worn both hats as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I realize this dynamic and strive to excel at both, believing one without the other will make the process significantly more difficult for you.
- Which party is most likely to encourage and permit contacts with the child.
- This factor often becomes important to the court when credible evidence is presented which indicates one parent is trying to put a wedge between the child and the other parent. Unsurprisingly, this dynamic is often born from animosity from one parent to the other, often the result of perceived or real slights suffered as a result of the other parent’s behavior. Now, there are many circumstances where one parent can be unhappy or even furious with the other. I mean, very few breakups are mutual and sometimes people can be blindsided by reprehensible behavior by their spouse or significant other. But, it is important for parents to remember to really strive to keep the children out of it unless they are in danger. Failure to do so can come back to haunt a parent, as courts take attempts by one parent to turn the child against the other parent very seriously.
- Past abuse, whether there is a continued risk of harm, and which party can provide safeguards.
- This factor is not present in every case. But, when it is it can often be accompanied by previous protection from abuse proceedings or even previous criminal charges. The existence of past abuses can obviously carry tremendous weight with the court as the best interest of the children, not the least of which their safety, is paramount.
- Parental duties performed by each party.
- This factor often goes back to parental involvement. If you have been a stay at home parent, it is likely that this factor will swing your way as you likely got the children up, fed them, changed them, bathed them, put them to bed, etc. If however, you worked and the other parent did most if not all of the heavy lifting with the children, it should come as little surprise that this factor will not be in your favor. Where things get more complicated is where the parents share the duties. When that is the case, this factor remains as important but can serve as a little more of a wash with the court, with both parties receiving credit.
- Need for stability in education, family life, and community life.
- This factor becomes more important as the child or children age and begin to develop relationships at school or around the home. Oftentimes the factor can become most influential towards a custody determination in situations where one parent has moved out of the area in which the child has previously resided. Where this movement would cause the child to change schools or see important people less, it is likely that the parent will get a strike against them in the eyes of the court. That doesn’t mean this factor alone can sink one parent’s case with regards to obtaining custody, but it does mean that parent will have to make up ground with other factors to make up the difference.
- Availability of extended family.
- This factor isn’t as simple as counting heads and deciding who has the biggest family. It’s more nuanced in that it’s about the quality of relationships/bond the child or children have with certain members of each parent’s extended family. And, if one custody arrangement or the other is going to make it difficult for the child or children to have access to these important people, it is likely that arrangement is going to be less enticing to the court. The old saying, it takes a village really comes to the forefront when evaluating this factor.
- Sibling relationships.
- Children develop very strong bonds with their siblings. As a result, a court is likely to be reluctant to give credit to a parent whose custody arrangement is likely to separate or occasionally distance siblings from one another.
- Preferences of the child.
- Many courts refuse to inject the opinion of the child into a custody dispute. As a result, it is unlikely the preference of the child will be heard. This is especially the case with younger children. As a result, this factor, although powerful, is often not in play.
- Attempts of parent to turn child against other parent (except in domestic abuse).
- See my notes under the first factor. This should reinforce how seriously courts take one parent trying to turn the child or children against the other parent.
- Which party is more likely to maintain a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child.
- Which party most likely to attend to the special needs of the child.
- Proximity of residences.
- Availability to care for the child.
- Level of conflict between the parties and willingness and ability of the parties to cooperate with one another.
- There is often some degree of conflict in every custody dispute. Even the ones where things go relatively smoothly. That said, please remember, as I’ve said above, if the court thinks a parent is being difficult, discouraging contact, or trying to turn the child against the other parent, and the parent doesn’t have a really good reason which takes into consideration the best interests of the child, it will not be well received, at all.
- History of drug or alcohol abuse.
- Mental and physical condition of the member of a party’s household.
- If the household the child or children will live in contains others beyond the parent, the court will look into those other people and make sure they don’t pose a threat to the child. Remember, all of this boils down to the best interests of the child, and their environment is of chief importance.
- Any other relevant factor.
- This factor is a catch-all. The court realizes people don’t fit into cookie cutters, so of course, families don’t either. This factor covers any of the unique yet important issues inherent within your custody dispute. Not surprisingly, it’s normally these issues that get brought up first in initial intake interviews with potential clients. We are all different, so it is imperative your attorney understands that and takes the time to really recognize all the issues which make your situation different. Otherwise, it will be hard to decipher the appropriate path to a good resolution for you.
Relocation
Now that you have a basic understanding of the factors a court will consider when determining a custody dispute, you might be asking, what if I or the other parent wants to move to another county, a nearby state, or even across the country? If you are, you are talking about relocation, and without question, it’s a big deal.
But, how easy is it to relocate? The quick answer is, it depends. But the longer and more realistic answer is that generally, relocating can be pretty difficult. Why? Well here is what the court will consider:
First, the court is going to have to determine whether the relocation will “significantly impair the ability of a non-relocating party to exercise custodial rights”. If the answer to that question is yes it will, then the relocating parent will have shown that the relocation will nonetheless “serve the best interests of the child”. How will that determination be made? The court will look into the following factors:
- Relationship (nature, quality, the extent of involvement, duration) between the child and the parties at each location.
- It’s all about relationships for the child. If the child is going to lose a number of important relationships by relocating, it then becomes less likely the court is to allow relocation. This is especially the case when the child will have few important relationships at the new location.
- Age, developmental stage, needs of the child and the impact relocation will have on physical, educational, and emotional development.
- Much of this involves the age of the child. The older the child the more likely they are to have important relationships which, if lost, could negatively impact the child’s physical, educational, and emotional development.
- Feasibility of preserving relationship with non-relocating party. Logistics and financial circumstances.
- Child’s preference considering age and maturity.
- Established pattern of conduct by either party to promote or thwart the relationship of the child and the other party.
- Will it enhance the quality of life for the party seeking relocation. Financial, emotional, or educational opportunity.
- Present and past abuse committed by a party or a member of the party’s household and whether there is a continued risk of harm to the child or abused party.
As I said above, with a child custody dispute, it is imperative the attorney at your side has both the hard skills to advocate for you in a courtroom setting and the soft skills required to honestly and compassionately navigate through the difficult conversations you will be forced to have throughout the process. And, as I said, as someone who has worn both hats as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney in Erie County, I realize that dynamic and strive to excel at both, believing one without the other will make the process significantly more difficult for you. With that, I hope we have the opportunity to sit down and talk about how I can put my skill and experience to work for you.
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I hope we have the opportunity to sit down and talk about how I can put my skill and experience to work for you.
