Child Visitation Law 101: Do You Know These 5 Factors That Determine Custody and Visitations?

In order to determine who gets the custody, the court will examine several factors to reach a decision that is in the child’s best interests. Knowing these important points in advance will help you position yourself much more favorably in general, so studying them and seeing to it that you meet all the criteria is of crucial importance. So what are they?

1. Financial stability

Your financial stability is one of the most important aspects of your life the court will examine to determine your suitability as a legal guardian. By being financially independent, a parent has the means necessary to provide a loving and caring home for a child. This, of course, is not the only thing that matters, but it’s a good basis for a stable and nurturing home. Moreover, the judges tend to favor the parent who has provided the majority of the kid’s care up to this point.

2. Your relationship with the child

If your child prefers you over the other parent (and is at least 12 year old), the court tends to take that into consideration as well. While it’s important to guarantee a safe and stable home for the kid, being under the watchful eye of a loving parent is at least equally as important. So be prepared the the court may inquire about how your kid feels about the situation.

3. The age of your kid

Generally speaking, the attorneys at Aviso Law seem to be noticing a trend; the younger a kid is, the more the courts tend to follow the standardized procedures, and the older the kid, the more flexible they are willing to be. If your kid is extremely young, don’t be surprised if the court will favor the mother over the father.

4. The relationship between spouses

Cooperation between spouses is what the court wants to see. In other words, the cooperative spouse always gets preferential treatment, and the one who tries to sabotage the other’s visiting schedule or interfere with it doesn’t get looked upon too kindly in the court of law. Also, never bad-mouth your spouse in front of your kids; if the court hears a word of it, it will certainly not count in your favor.

5. Your health

As unfair it may be, your health is an important consideration when it comes to determining whether you’re a suitable legal guardian or not. This includes both physical and mental health. Simply put, the court is looking for someone who’s healthy so that the child will be able to enjoy a stable home. Although it may not be your fault, if you’re severely sick, it’s hard enough to take care of your own problems, much less of those pertaining to others.

Conclusion

There are other considerations the court needs to make before determining the most suitable legal guardian, but these are arguably one of the most important ones. By taking the time to understand them, you can make all the changes needed in order to display the desirable traits they want to see in a parent.