All You Need to Know About Child Custody

A parent with control over the decisions regarding raising their children subsequent to a custody battle is left in command of determining religious education and healthcare choices. Types of Custody The courts have the opportunity to choose among several types of custody. Temporary custody is the child custody awarded to a parent during the process of divorce or separation that grant custody of a parent with full rights of custody to the exclusion of the other parent. The non-custodial parent can receive limited rights in some cases, as well as supervised visitation rights. Joint custody gives equal rights to both parents to make decisions concerning the upbringing of the child. Courts award joint custody in cases where both parents can properly perform their duties as parents. If an applicant parent to sole custody, the parent applicant to rebut a presumption that joint custody is in the child. Sole custody of one parent does not preclude the non-custodial parent from visiting with the child in question with the exception of abuse or criminal activity. In the event that a sole custodian agrees to visitation rights for the non-custodial parent in a child custody case, the courts may still impose restrictions on visits by non-custodial parents. Determining Child Custody The court can appoint a consultant such as a forensic psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. The assessor provides information with regard to the family involved in the custody case in question. The evaluator is asked to speak with family members and other mental health professionals who will be – or have been - working with family. The counselor will then be asked to send a report to the court; the counselor may also be asked to serve as a witness in the case. Child Custody Legal Proceedings The divorce defines the rules for childcare; if the spouses have children together and married parents have joint protection on the rights of parents and children are equal. Every parent is entitled to identical opportunities to gain custody of the child upon separation. Third Party Custodians The court may grant custody of the child to a third party when – or if - the third party has claimed responsibility; grandparents or close familial relatives are often regarded as third party custodians. If a married couple shares multiple children, the court has the power to not only separate the children, but also determine which children – if any – would be better suited with specific parents. However, for reasons of moral support, children are kept together in most cases. Visitation and Child Custody The court has the power to deny visitation; cases in which courts deny access to children often include non-custodial parents who have been physically or have emotionally abused the child in the past and/or non-custodial parent suffers from serious mental illness, which can contribute sacrificing a child’s emotional wellbeing. Parents who are in prison or have a criminal record are not automatically denied visitation rights, but are seldom considered as custodians.