In the Best Interests Of The Child, What Does It Mean?
11 February 2022
Child custody is one of those areas of law where emotions run high. It can be heart-breaking to think about spending time away from your child or understanding how Child Support works. You must show the court that you have the Childs best interest at heart when you are dealing with a child custody matter. You need to hire a qualified child custody lawyer who can help you show that you are an active part of the child's life and provide the love and care your child deserves and needs. Whenever the court is deciding legal rights and duties to your child's possessions and visitation and child support, the court tends to evaluate what is in the child's best interest.
The standards for the best interest of the child
In child custody cases, the judge mainly focuses on what is the Childs best interest, and it means that courts make decisions about custody and visitation intending to encourage the child's emotional development, mental health security, and happiness so that they will grow to become a great adult. Earlier courts mainly favoured the mothers when they made custody decisions, but now there is a greater recognition that the Childs best interests are served.
The judge evaluates the close relationship of the child with both parents. A child needs to develop close relationships with both the parents and parents. You must make decisions in your custody case which in your child's best interest; the decisions that you create or that the court makes for you will affect your child ultimately and your relationship with them for years. All courts follow the best interest of the child standard, and the states have developed the list of factors that judges need to consider in their statutes.
Factors that are considered to determine the Childs best interest
- The relationship between the parent and child in the past, present, and the future
- The child mainly interacts and relates to the parents, siblings, and others who significantly affect their best interest.
- How well the child is adjusted to their home school or community
- Is the child maturing enough to have an input or their wishes?
- Which parent is likely to encourage frequent contact with other parents?
- Whether apparent has intentionally lied to the court to cause an increase of the litigation expenses to delay the proceedings or to pursue the court to rule in his favour.
When the court issues its custody and visitation orders, the judge will consider the factors they took into decision making. When judges analyse the case studies, they do not focus only on a few aspects. They are considering cases as a whole. The presence of some factors like history of domestic violence or child abuse might result in judges restricting the parent's visitation rights and awarding sole legal decision-making authority to one parent.
The court might determine visitation and award decision-making to other parents if a parent has accused falsely that the other parent commits abuse in an effort to try securing custody rights.
Resolving a child custody dispute
You must keep the best interest of the child at the back of your mind if you are experiencing a dispute over custody rights and visitation time of your child with other parents. It would be best always to consider what is best for your child instead of thinking about what is ideal for you. In several custody disputes, it is possible to negotiate parenting agreements that work the best for the child and parent.