9 Factors That Could Affect Your Child Custody Arrangement

1. 9 Factors That Could Affect Your Child Custody Arrangement

2. Married or not, couples with children who make the choice to end their relationship may face a custody battle. As our child custody lawyers in West Chester pa team counsels our clients, we first seek to educate them about the process, system, and factors considered in child custody matters. Read on to learn what to expect when you’re seeking custody of your child.

3. The Wishes of the Parents The court does indeed take into account the wishes of each parent. Of course, when that becomes a problem is when both parents want full custody, or have not agreed on terms. Then, it is up to the court to decide what is best for the children based upon the other factors that they take under consideration.

4. The Wishes of the Children Although the court does not put as much weight on what the child wants as what each parent does, or what the recommendations of social worker or other professional are, the court does take into consideration the child's wishes.

5. Relationship Between Children & Each Parent The court does look at the very important relationship between each parent and each child. If one parent has been an absentee parent most of the time and the child has developed a much stronger relationship with the other parent, then it will likely be the absentee parent that is awarded visitation rather than custody and must pay child support and other obligations.

6. Mental & Physical Health of Children & Parent If one parent is physically disabled and will have a harder time taking care of the children, this is something that the court will look at. Although most of the time disabled parents are as capable of taking care of their children as a non- disabled parent, the court must look at this when deciding who will get full- time custody, which will have partial custody or visitation, or pay child support.

7. The Willingness of Parents to Work with Each Other Each parent will be interviewed to find out just how willing they are to work with the other parent. The court does not want to deprive children of either one of their parents, and if awarding custody to one parent will severely restrict the amount of time they get to spend with the other parent, this will be a strong determining factor.

8. The Majority Caregiver Up Until This Point The court will consider which parent has been providing for the child the most. This doesn't just mean providing financially because financial support is often done through child support. The court will consider all types of care such as transportation, teaching, feeding and, in general, parenting.

9. The Parent's Living Accommodations & Ability to Provide for the Child The court will always consider the parents ability to provide for the child when deciding custody and child support. The court will look at the living arrangements first and foremost, to find out if the parent has room for the children, if the home is in a safe neighborhood and if it is clean and well- managed.

10. How Much of an Adjustment Will be Required Obviously, divorce will cause some adjustments to be made but the court wants to make as little of an impact on the child's life as possible. That's why the court will look at how much the child will have to readjust if they live mostly with one parent or another, or even with shared custody.

11. Allegations & Actual Instances of Abuse or Neglect The court will not only consider any actual incidents of abuse or neglect when it comes to awarding custody, but they will consider allegations of neglect or abuse as well. If one parent has made allegations that turned out to be false, the court will weigh this heavily when deciding how to arrange custody.

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