Child Custody Questions – Get The Answers to Help You Win

Dealing with child custody  can be very intimidating and actually very mind boggling for most parents . Additionally the stress and depression of not having your kids with you or going through a divorce and we are talking meltdown for a lot of people. If you are in a custody fight for your kids then having answers to your child custody questions is a critical first step if are to succeed.

In this article I’m going to go over answers to  some of the most common child custody questions from parents  like you.

A common mistake  parents make is rushing out and hiring the first lawyer they find an relying on their expertise  wholly to win their custody fight . Unfortunately even attorneys don’t have all the answers to child custody questions or they are not up to date with the most current strategies . Your first step to winning custody of your kids should be research. With the age of the internet, it makes research is a whole lot easier than it was in the past.

I’ve put together some of the most common child custody answers :

1. What are the most common  types of child custody

• Joint Legal Custody – Both parents are entitled to make major decisions about their children’s lives (health, education, etc.)
• Sole Legal Custody – One parent alone has complete legal authority to make major decisions for their children.
• Sole Physical Custody – Is when the child lives with one parent on a regular basis with the other parent having visitation rights.
• Joint Physical Custody – Is when the child lives with each parent for a substantial part of the year (not necessarily 50/50).

2. What standards do the courts take into account when determining custody? The guiding  principle is called the “best interest of the child”

3. How does the court decide the  “best interest of the child?” Depending on  how old your child is  , the major   factors of determining the best interest of the child are:

• Your  child’s interactions and quality of relationship with his or her parents.
• The child’s involvement in his or her school and neighborhood and whether locating with either parent would disruptive.
• The health (mental and physical) of the parents.
• The parent that is more likely to encourage and facilitate custody visitation rights of the other parent. (This is a  huge   one)
• The residence location of either parent in relation to the child’s existing city or state and/or if one parent is planning to move too far away.
• Whether or not either parent has made process of making child support payments difficult.
• The desires of the child (depending on how old your child is ) but this will not be as big of a factor unless the child is older.

4. Do kids get to choose which household to live in ? Essentially , No. Judges  will definitely  consider their wishes  depending on age but will not base  custody solely on a child’s preference.

5. Can can children be witnesses  in court? Yes they can. Most states give some consideration to the child’s wishes.

6. Is the mother  more likely to win custody? Yes, even in today’s society. There are many exceptions though and fathers are gaining more custody rights as time goes on.

7. If joint physical custody is awarded, does that mean no one pays child support? Absolutely Not . Child support is determined separately  from custody agreements  and is based on levels of income and other factors.

8. If my spouse  is behind on child cupport payments can I stop visitations? Definitely not!Visitation rights and child support are treated separately. You still must respect the visitation agreement and then pursue child support separately.  not abiding by  the visitation agreement can get you in trouble.

9. Can I stop paying child support if my spouse won t let me see my kids? No. You must still pay child support and pursue a contempt violation of the custody agreement separately.

10. What if my ex has sole physical custody and wants to move out of state with the kids? A custodial parent must petition the court to change the custody order and ask for permission to leave the state with the child.

One of the keys to  winning custody of your children is being prepared and organized. Don’t leave everything up to your attorney . By doing your own research and really working with your attorney, you can greatly advance your chances of winning custody of your children .