Saturday, November 26, 2011

Child Custody Laws; What You Must Know

By Henry Eban


Child custody laws are federal and state laws that govern a parent's authority to create decisions about the children and maintain physical control of the children. They also include visitation rights of the non-custodial parent.

These laws exist to help offer structure within the relationships between kids and divorced parents. The best thing parents can do is agree with regards to the kids and share custody. But when the parents cannot get along, they tend to put the kids within the middle of all of it. That's another reason why you will find custody laws. Child custody laws can also apply to unmarried parents, when they are claiming a biological relationship to the child, or when the grandparents question the competency of the parents. In some cases the custody is given to people that are not related to the children, i.e. foster parents.

In instances that neither parent is deemed "fit" to take care of the kids, the court can give custody to an individual or individuals that are related to the children. This is an example where the child custody laws would pertain to the grandparents. But the courts usually want to keep custody with the biological parents, if at all feasible. A state court can only make a ruling on custody if it is the children's home state; there is a significant connection to people (grandparents, friends, and teachers) in that state; or if the child would be in danger in another state (i.e. abuse, neglect, or other harm).

Child custody laws and custody decisions favor a parent that can spend the most time with the child. The judges take a look at what's in the greatest interest of the children when deciding custody. There are numerous elements to think about when they're searching at the very best interest of the children. Some examples are: the ages of the children, the mental and physical well being of both parents, what the kids already have established (school, church, and house), the capability of each parent to offer the necessities, the children's preferences, and amongst other issues.

Child custody laws were put in place to ensure the best interest of the children, but the final decision doesn't always turn out that way. Sometimes the parent with the better attorney gets awarded custody. And some parents will falsely prove their capability to take care of the children by painting the other parent in a bad light. Custody evaluators can help with performing psychological evaluations of the parents and the children in order assure custody is place with the appropriate parent. The evaluators are usually appointed by the court.




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