Sunday, March 13, 2016

Info On Child Custody Assessment Tools

By Michael McDonald


Practically, all courts use a certain technique while coming to a conclusion about which parent a child is supposed to live with in cases of separation or divorce. One thing is for sure, the technique has to have the childs welfare in its outcome. In regards to the child custody assessment tools, there have been cases where a judge has given an order for both parents to undergo a drug test failure to which a parent may lose custody.

Can custody be given to only one parent? This is not a certain outcome. Partial custody can be awarded to both parents which is also called joint custody. It takes three forms. Joint physical custody whereby they spend times with the kids, joint legal custody in which both parents participate in decision making and the last one takes both joint physical custody and joint legal custody.

In the past, custody was awarded to mothers especially of children below five years. But in the recent years most states consider the physical fitness of both parents. Courts will most likely award custody to the parent who has the best interests of the child disregarding the gender. Most divorced parents agree the mother to have custody while the father maintains the visitation rights.

There are instances when one parent moves out and leaves the children with the other parent. This will hurt the chances of the parent who moved out to get custody of the children. This is because he has already sent out a message that he is not suitable for physical custody. The judge will also be reluctant to change the physical location of the kids.

A parents routine will also determine if he/she can get custody or not. A parent that smokes and consumes alcohol is considered unsuitable to live with these children since their health will be at risk. This is not the best environment for any child. Other social factors will also be considered. A judge will not grant custody to a parent who has been accused of child abuse before.

To be able to live with your child, there are a lot of requirements you have to fulfill as a parent. You should be living in a fixed location so that you do not have to change your kids to be living in an environment they are not familiar with. You have to provide for the kids the basics like food, clothes and medical care. Your emotional bond with the kids has to be strong.

Can a parents sexual orientation affect in getting custody or visitation rights? This solely depends on a state. In some, a persons sexual orientation cannot prevent one from getting the custody of the children or being denied visitation. In some states however, judges will decide while considering the communitys prejudices and where the kid will be more comfortable.

How does the court decide in cases whereby all the factors favor both parents and none is better than the other? The court will have to contemplate which parent will most likely develop a good relationship with the other parent when given custody. The parent has to give the child the same lifestyle he is used to.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment