Child Custody and Parental Issues

Custody and Visitation

In most cases, the court will assign custody based on the best interest of the child. There are various considerations and laws that will determine exactly what outcome will be in the child's best interest, but in many cases, joint custody or reasonable visitation will be the preferred outcome for all involved.

The specifics vary from state to state, but some of the factors the court may consider when deciding custody include:

  • Stability and lifestyle of parents
  • Age and health of the child
  • Existing relationships with each parent
  • Health of parents
  • Child's adjustment to school and community
  • Sibling relationships
  • Parents' ability to support the child's needs
  • Child's preference, if at age of reason

When deciding physical custody, the court may also encourage the spouses to develop a child visitation schedule. In some situations, the court may mandate a visitation schedule if the spouses cannot come to an agreement, or if state laws demand it.

Most courts will see that the non-custodial parent has a significant amount of parenting time throughout the course of a year.

Often, if the couple is cooperative, the court will issue an order for reasonable visitation. This eliminates the need to a fixed schedule, and the parties are free to have flexible visitation periods as they see fit.

Child Support

In nearly every case, the family law court will require that a non-custodial parent make child support payments.

Child support may be ordered as part of a divorce, or after a separation of non-married couples who have a child. Child support may also be ordered upon determination of paternity.

Child support may be ordered if one parent has sole custody, or a lesser amount may be ordered if the parents have joint custody, but the child primarily lives with one spouse or one parent earns significantly more than the other.

Many factors will determine if and how much child support will need to be paid, including the earning capacity of each parent, the health needs of the child, educational expenses, and the standard of living of each parent.

Child support may be modified if any of the determining factors significantly changes, such as if one parent has a significant change in income or if the custodial parent and child move a considerable distance away from the paying parent, making visitation difficult. However, there are limits on how often and for what reasons a parent may request a modification of child support.

Child support payments typically must continue until the child reaches the age of majority.

If you need help determining or modifying child support, connect with a local family lawyer today.

Parental Relocation

One situation that can have a noticeable impact on the visitation and support obligations of two parents is parental relocation.

Whenever either parent, either custodial or non-custodial, makes a significant change in living arrangements, it can impact the child, and the court's need to oversee the welfare of the child. In some states, an agreement or court order is required before a child can be relocated beyond a specific distance or across state lines.

If you or the other parent of your child are planning a major move, it's important to know your legal rights. Talk to a local family lawyer to see what legal obligations you have, and how parental relocation may affect your visitation rights and support obligations.

Paternity

In situations where the parentage of a child is uncertain, the court will likely order a paternity test of a possible father.

Standard paternity testing uses DNA from the mother, the possible father and the child, though it is possible to conduct the test without the mother. A match is typically considered positive when the probability that the tested person is the child’s father is 99.99%; a lower probability means the test is considered inconclusive and further testing may be required. If the child has DNA not found in either the mother or the possible father, the test is considered negative and paternity can be conclusively ruled out.

Paternity testing may also be used by an adult child of adoption looking to reconnect with his or her biological parents.

If you are interested in establishing paternity, or have a court order to undergo paternity testing, you can connect with a family law attorney to gain insight on the process and your rights.

Get more family law information on: