How Courts Handle Child Custody Cases

Officially speaking, many states and courts don't refer to it any more as a matter of child custody, but a matter of allocation of parenting and decision-making responsibilities. Many state legislatures are officially changing the terminologies to get rid of the tendency of many parents to consider their children as property they should have custody over. Below are a brief overview of how courts handle child custody cases.

Parenting and Decision-making Responsibilities

Before the court would award custody to the primary parent, or the parent who spent the most time with the children, leaving out the other parent and giving them a role almost like a seasonal visitor. After the changes, the court focuses on the healthy sharing of responsibilities, including making the decisions regarding the children's education, extra-curricular activities, health, religion, etc. and spending parenting time, which used to be called visitation, with the children.

Scheduling of Parenting Time

The court may establish a schedule of parenting time for both parents, keeping the best interests of the children in mind. If both parents live in the same area the children can live with one parent for the week and go live with the other parent for the weekend. However, if the parents live farther apart, such as in Denver and Colorado Springs, it would be impractical for the children to commute several hours every weekend to live with their other parent. The typical scenario for this would be the children go live with the other parent every other weekend and/or a huge part of the summer breaks and major holidays.

The Children's Best Interest

Courts used to believe that it is in the best interest of a child with separated, divorced, or annulled parents to live with only one parent. Recently, though, judges and parents alike in many states are coming to realize that taking into account the wishes of the child is beneficial to everybody, including both parents and the child, because both parents are still deemed valuable to the life of a child. Although a child 12 years older and above has considerably more involvement in choosing who to live with, it doesn't mean that the child has the final say in settling the case.

Different factors are still taken into consideration. Not the least of these factors is the age of the child, where older children can make or break the decision and younger ones usually live with the parent who takes care of them more often. Parents are also examined for their physical and mental health, which indicates their capability to look over and care for the child. Of course, the court also considers if there are previous cases of violence, child abuse, or neglect and criminal records and if the child is particularly attached to his current home, school, or locality.

Vernon Ready is a Denver family law attorney and deals with cases that have to do with child custody, child support, marital agreements, restraining orders, adoption etc. As Denver divorce lawyer Vernon also handles divorce, separation and mediation cases. So if you live in the Denver Metro area and are in need of a good family law attorney then visit Vernon's website at: Ready-Law.com

Note: This article is for information only and cannot be considered legal advice. The information contained in this article is generalized for a wide audience, and cannot replace the advice of an attorney based on the specific facts of your case.