How Does a Court Decide Child Custody Cases?

A child custody order sets the rules and guidelines for child custody, parenting, and visitation. Parents can generally decide their own parenting plans, but if they can’t agree, family court will decide the child custody arrangement.

If parents do not resolve their case, state family law gives the judge authority to make custody and parenting time decisions. Courts apply a standard known as the best interests of the child. For help navigating child custody arrangements, get in touch with a local custody and visitation lawyer.

How Does a Judge Decide Who Should Get Custody?

Most states start with the idea that there is no presumption favoring either parent in determining what is in the child’s best interest. The judge makes no assumptions about either parent’s abilities, and both parents start on a level footing.

The underlying policy in all phases of child custody law is the best interests of the child. To determine this, judges consider all relevant factors. Some of the factors that the judge will analyze to determine the type of custody to award include:

• The child’s age
• The child’s adjustment to their home, school, and community
• The child’s relationships with each parent, siblings, and other family members
• Evidence of substance abuse or domestic violence
• The physical and mental health of all individuals
• The wishes of the child, with more consideration given to the child’s preferences if they’re older

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How To Divide Custody of the Child?

Types of custody include two categories, legal and physical:

• Legal custody of the child. The right to make major decisions on behalf of the child. It may be sole or joint legal custody.
• Physical custody of the child. Which parent’s home will serve as the child’s primary residence. It may be sole, primary, shared, partial, or supervised.

Primary physical custody can be granted to one parent or divided between both. Joint physical custody means the child’s home is divided between both parents.

Non-Custodial Parents Still Must Receive Reasonable Parenting Time

If one parent has sole physical custody, courts generally require the non-custodial parent to receive a reasonable amount of time with their children. That is, unless parenting time by the non-custodial parent might endanger the child. In those cases, visitation rights may require supervised visitation.

What is reasonable parenting time with a parent will depend heavily on that parent and that parent’s record of participating in the child’s life. In custody, the court will decide parenting time based on what is in the child’s best interests.

Creating a Parenting Plan

A strong parenting plan can avoid child custody disputes. Parenting plans includes the day-to-day schedule and necessary decision-making for the child.

A parenting plan generally requires:

• Where and when the child will be in the custody of each parent
• Provisions for special occasions, such as holidays, birthdays, vacations, and school breaks
• Decision-making authority to one or both parents about the child’s education, health care, and extracurricular activities, and other important decisions
• Responsibility for insurance and medical care and access to the child’s medical and school records
• Limitations on the non-custodial parent’s contact or ability to receive information about the child

• Which parent will receive federal or state benefits as custodian
• Provisions for future modifications of the parenting plan, if necessary

Many states provide a parenting plan template to help parents come up with a parenting and visitation plan. This document will be formally incorporated into your custody order.

A parenting plan is specific to your situation and can incorporate anything you feel is important to include. It’s important to formalize child custody agreements regarding children — even for people who are able to continue to work together.

Circumstances and arrangements can change. Well-planned agreements can incorporate how to make child custody decisions in these situations. Additionally, there may be details that parents don’t think about at the time of separation that become problematic when they come up. For example: Does responsibility for a particular evening begin when school gets out, or at a specific time? Who is in charge of getting the kids to their respective activities?

Getting Legal Help

You have parental rights over how to raise your child, but you must share those rights with the other parent. When parents cannot resolve their child custody case, it causes problems for the child’s well-being. To resolve your child custody issues, get legal advice from an experienced child custody lawyer.