Child Custody Explained

When a marriage is dissolved, it is not only the relationship between the husband and wife that may be severed; in the case of many divorcees whose respective marriages have produced children, those children oftentimes bear the emotional burden of the Annulments.

Child custody laws differ in all states as each state in which the family resides has jurisdiction over their case. However, the basic definition of child custody and the principle that all decisions are made in the best interest of the child remain a constant. Generally, it is both the biological parents, who have their names written on the child's birth certificate, that will make all the decisions that are involved in rearing the child. These decisions include the residence of the child, education court


Child custody is loosely defined as the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child. This relationship also gives the custodial parent the right to make decisions for the child and includes their duty to care for the child. Once the decision is made of who will bear the custody of the child, child custody laws make it very difficult to sway that decision in future appeals. Most courts will only allow modification of the child custody decision if there has been a change in the circumstances between the custodial parent and the child.


Changes in the circumstances of the life of the non-custodial parent will almost always have no bearing on child custody, as these changes in circumstance will not affect the best interest of the child. Obviously, the court will feel that the initial decision made of which parent should have child custody is in the best interest of the child, and only very rarely will a change in the non-custodial parent's life change the judge's mind; unless, the custodial parent deteriorated as a parent, the chances of swaying a child custody decision is rare.


The child custody laws differ between all 50 states. In order to elaborate on child custody laws for each state would take days. It is best to do your own research for the state that will have jurisdiction over your child custody case. However, it is important to bear in mind, that regardless of what state you will have your child custody case heard, decisions are always based on the best interests of the child.

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