Do you know that child custody cases are the most emotional and huge battle found in the family court? After divorce, each parent believes they are doing their best for the child and deserve it alone. Unfortunately, sometimes vindictive spouses use children to leverage the situation, which is utterly wrong. If you get in such a situation, it is better to visit a family law court near you as most of them provide children’s best interest any time they have a case to determine the child’s custodian.
When deciding the nature of custody arrangement and support of the children, there are certain things to consider. With these factors at your fingertips, it will give the particular attorney, like, a Houston child support lawyer advantage to judge and decide the type of arrangement best fit for the child. The court often prefers the parent to have joint custody, each playing their role. Typically, kids may benefit from each parent differently from their significant roles of upbringing. Therefore, the judge advises both parents to create a plan that has joint custody in raising their children.
Factors impacting the judge’s decision regarding child custody
Usually, the judge considers any relevant factor related to the custody and has the child’s best interest at heart. Read on to discover factors that have a significant impact on children’s custody cases.
Parent’s wishes
The court usually considers the wishes of both parents. The only problems come when both parents want full custody of the child and are never in agreement with each other. In such a case, it is up to the court to decide the child’s best interest based on their factors. However, if parents agree to handle their children, then the court will uphold those agreements during the ruling out of the case.
Child’s relationship with each parent
The court always considers the relationship between each parent and the child or children. If one of the parents has been absent, the kids have a stronger bond with the present one. Therefore, the absentee parent will likely get a visitation award rather than custody and pay child support and inclusive roles they need to partake.
Child’s preference
Some courts will not consider a child’s preference, but it is also a factor determining the ruling of a child’s custody. While children are not the best judges of what is best for them, it is always good to consider listening to their appeal. While some kids prefer a particular parent since they are lenient or spoil them, perhaps they could also be facing abuse from the parent they object to. The court needs to be skeptical when using this factor as a parameter for child custody. The age of the children before deciding on their wishes determines the end of it.
Domestic violence
A parent with domestic abuse history will likely not get child custody but will be given to the other parent. You must conduct proper research to verify allegations before ruling out the case.
The above factors, among many others, will determine the ruling of the child’s custody case. Following proper family law, court attorneys like Houston child support lawyers will solve custody problems for the children’s best interest. However, young and older children can be victims of manipulation and parental alienation. Thus, it is good to scrutinize and consider these factors when deciding.