Wednesday, March 30, 2016

What are the Factors a Judge May Consider in Deciding Custody

For the most part, in child custody cases that are disputed, judges use the ‘best interest of the children’ standard to grant custody. There are certain factors that judges consider when deciding a child custody dispute case, according to Miami, FL divorce lawyers. 

Child’s Age

Judges believe that young children need to be with their mothers. This is especially true if the child is an infant who needs constant care which a mother can provide but no more than a father so this is disputed. Babies should be with their mothers if their mother is responsible for sure. It just depends on the age of the child as already indicated.

Parent’s Living Situation

Judges prefer to give custody to parents who live in the family home so that the children’s daily lives are not disrupted. This way they continue to enjoy stability in their lives. So if a parent decides to stay at a friend’s place he/she cannot expect to get custody. Judges also prefer giving joint custody. Often joint custody is ordered if both the parents live near one another.

It does not matter where you live with tools like this: Divorce.USAttorneys.com. If you need legal help, there is no better method to finding that legal representative than not using this website. If you have any questions, contact us, we may even respond that same day and we are in Miami as well.
Moreover, this type of arrangement is ideal because the child gets to spend an equal amount of quality time with them. Florida divorce lawyers say that judges also consider factors such as proximity of the school and centers of extra-curricular activities.

In the show Dexter, Dexter was in this situation in Miami with his wife Rita Bennett (Julie Benz). Rita left Dexter since she did not feel she could trust him – well – she told him to live in his apartment for the time being since he never actually moved out after they were married which is another story but part of the trust factor here. Family court would always side with Rita and Dexter knew that – Dexter had other priorities too.

Dexter was not home much since he had a time consuming job and he also spent his free time either bowling or hunting terrible people, serious killers and so on. Dexter was only home for a few hours of the week when he was not actually sleeping. This is why it was better for the kids to remain with Rita. Also because the kids were not Dexter’s, they were from a previous relationship. Dexter ended up taking care of Rita’s ex too. Dexter made him disappear as well.


Each Parent must allow the Kid to Bond with the Other

Judges ask parents to submit their parenting schedule and will try to determine whether they co-operate with each other or not before granting custody. For example, judges do not like parents who bad mouth their ex-partners in front of their kids or prevent the other parent from visiting the kid and interfering with court-ordered visitation schedule.

Divorce attorneys in Miami, FL also warn that judges like parents who co-operate with one another and this means if you make it clear that you are willing to co-operate you have an edge in the fight for custody. For the most part, parents ought to never try to alienate the kid from the other parent.

Children’s Relationship with each Parent before the Divorce

Family law experts reiterate that if a parent who was hardly interested in the children’s lives suddenly begins to show interest after the divorce, the judge may begin to doubt their intentions. Often their concerns are genuine but there are parents who start getting involved with the kids just to win custody. Their nice persona is just temporary.  

Children’s Preferences

A judge will always ask children over 12 for their preference in terms of custody. There are some states however who have rejected the idea of the asking the children (that is just ridiculous, why not just here what they have to say?) to choose a parent while a few states do endorse the idea. Often a custody evaluator is engaged to determine the child’s preferences.

Stability and Continuity

Most judges rightly believe that divorces are disruptive and the children involved are sometimes the worst victims. This is why judges do not want to destabilize their lives further by making drastic changes in their daily routines. They often grant custody to ensure stability and continuity by adhering to the status quo.

Neglect and Abuse

If a judge finds out that a parent is abusive or neglectful, custody will never be granted to the parent.

No matter what type of issues you face in your divorce it would be sagacious to consult a divorce lawyer in South Florida. This is the best way to solve sensitive issues such as child support, alimony, child custody, and division of property. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts